I've Been Waiting For You
by love-r-of-Jam
Summary: Rory Gilmore is getting married. She wants to invite her father to the ceremony, but the trouble is, she isn't sure who it is, and invited the three candidates. What will Lorelai say when she finds this out.
1. I Have A Dream

Title:

Summary: When Rory is getting married she wants to invite her father. She doesn't know who her father is, but she invited the three men she thinks is the answer.

Disclaimer: I do not own the songs that I am using as my chapters titles. I do not own Mama Mia, one of the greatest musicals, and no infringement intended. I am just taken the general idea and I hope that no one sues.

Author's Note: I hope you like this, and I will try to update as much as I can. I leave London on Wednesday, go up to my cottage (with no internet!) on Saturday and move in to my new house in august… so I'm a tinge busy!

Rory Gilmore looked left and right before she stood in front of the mailbox in Stars Hallow center. Rory or Lorelai Leigh Gilmore was the daughter of the always-capable Lorelai Gilmore. Lorelai who owned the Inn in town, and was known to be one of the most capable people in town. She sighed and looked at each letters. 'Lucas Danes' She said and put the letter in. 'Christopher Hayden' and 'Max Medina' she made sure that they were all in the mail box and she hoped they got there in time.

Rory Gilmore was getting married and at the age of 23 she hoped that she was doing the right thing. Jess Mariano had come to the small suburb in hopes to get away from the fast pace of New York. He had opened up a Diner that used to be an abandoned Hardware store, and it had given life to the already lively town. Rory immediately felt sparks when she had met him at the Grand Opening of the Diner, and soon they were dating and two years later, they were engaged.

Being the daughter of such a capable headstrong woman, Rory found it kind of funny that she was marrying at such a young age. She knew it was the right thing, and right after she got married, she was finally going to be able to go after what she wants. To become a writer. Lorelai had never let anything get in the way of either Gilmore's dreams, and unfortunately, Lorelei's parents had tried to do that. Imagine the elder Gilmore's shock that their daughter came back from a summer of New York pregnant and refusing to name the father. The Gilmore's were shocked and embarrassed that there only daughter was pregnant in such a scandalous way.

They never said it, but Lorelai got the point, and she left the house in the dead of night a month after she gave birth. She had come to Stars Hallow seeking sanctuary and she went immediately to the Inn, which was the Independence Inn. She had appealed to the owner Mia, who had taken Lorelai and Rory under her wing, and had given them a place to stay and a job for Lorelai. Lorelai had worked from being a maid to the manager, and Mia had given the Inn to Lorelai when Mia had gotten married and moved to North Carolina.

Rory's elder grandparents had very little to do with her life, and that kind of made her sad. She remember going over to the house once when she was little, maybe three or four, and she remembered how opposing the house looked like outside. But she also remembered sitting in her Grandfather's lap as he read her the business section in the Wall Street journal, while her mother and her grandmother fight.

After that, she didn't really see them that often and she often wished she could. She already had no father figure, and that had been difficult, but not to have any family but the made family that Lorelai had made. Rory had heard that her grandmother had died a few years ago, and so it was only her grandfather. She had invited him to the wedding, hoping he would come.

Her mother had gotten pregnant at age 16 after a hot summer in New York, and she had never looked back. The thing was that Rory never knew who her father was; she had found pictures of three men with an inscription on the back. 'Luke Danes, 1984 summer. My first love.' 'Chris Hayden 1984 Summer A good time.' And Max Medina Later Summer 1984 Great tour guide.' Rory would have never thought of the last two but there was something about the way she had labeled it and kept it all of these years. She wouldn't have hidden it and kept it if it didn't mean something significance.

Rory walked back to the Crap Shack hoping that she did the right thing. She just hoped that it would work out. Rory huffed and tried to focus on the last details she had to arrange before her wedding.

Lane Kim and Paris Gellar ran up and surprised their friend. 'GILMORE!' they both yelled and Rory jumped at the sudden noise and looked backed and saw her two best friends barreling towards her. She opened her arms and they all hugged and screamed together. Rory had grown up with Lane Kim, and she had met Paris at college, and they all seemed to bond immediately.

'I have a secret.' Rory had told them after they had calmed down and went to the Diner. They sat at the table near the back so they could talk and not be overheard by the town gossips, Miss Patty and Babette. 'Oooh intrigue, you're having an affair with Kirk.' Lane said and they all just looked a little sick at the thought of that. 'Please, Gilmore over there is head over heels for James Dean over there.' Paris said and they all looked at Jess who was taking an order and they giggled. Jess was indeed very pretty in a rebel without a cause kind of way. 'No, I invited my father to my wedding.'

Lane and Paris looked at each other in a perplexed manner. 'I know I don't have a father technically, well I do.. I invited the three candidates.' Paris and Lane looked at each other and whispered. 'Three?'

Paris laughed 'Wow Lorelai was a wild one wasn't she?' and Rory shrugged. 'Well I invited all three, and I am hoping that once I see them, I will know who is my father.'

TBC


	2. Honey Honey

**Honey Honey**

**Disclaimer: Again I do not own anything, but my crazy cravings for Starbucks. **

**Author's Note: Hope you guys like this chapter, next one I will try to make longer. It's the entrance of the men. Oooh intrigue. **

Both Lane and Paris looked at Rory in shock. Surely she wasn't serious! Lane had known her for longer, and knew that Rory would do something like this. Rory had looked sad at each parent's night when all of her friends had both parents come, and it was just Lorelai. Paris had spent a lot of time with mother and daughter and she had seen how close the two were, and she didn't know what it was like not to have both parents. Sometimes she wished that she didn't have both of them hounding her about always meeting the expectations of her family and what was good for the whole world. Blah blah blah.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' Lane had asked and Rory didn't say anything. She looked at Jess who was trying to ignore Kirk's complaint about the sandwich he had ordered and shrugged. 'It's already done, but I think that I need to do this. Do you want to see the candidates?' She asked her friends, and of course they agreed.

Rory looked around and then pulled out the three photos. She put Luke's Photo down, and they looked at the old photo of a young man. His hair was brown and full, his eyes blue and piercing and Lane found herself looking up at her friends own eyes to see if there was any similarities. They couldn't help but look at how happy Lorelai looked in the guys arms. 'This is Luke.' Rory said and they continued to stare at him. Rory stopped looking at the man, but at her mother. She wished that she could understand what her mother was feeling in that moment.

Rory then took out the second photo, and looked around to see if anyone was looking at the three. Christopher Hayden was handsome in a conventional way, his hair was longer and his teeth were straight white and perfect. There was something cocky in his gaze and he looked down at Lorelai like he was possessing her. His eyes were also blue, but a darker blue that was violet and you could tell he was shorter than Lorelai. 'This is Christopher Hayden.' Paris just made a displeased face at the picture. 'He looks to yuppy to be your dad.' And Lane looked closer. 'He looks kinda nice, his shirt matches his pants.' Lane says and both of her friends looked at her strangely. 'We are talking about DNA, not the ability to color coordinate Lane.' Rory says and then puts the last photo on the table.

Max Medina was very different from the first two. His hair dark and black, his eyes so dark they don't seem to hold color and his skin olive and dark. He looks intelligent but also angry. There is a smirk on his face and unlike the first two pictures; the two in the picture aren't actually touching. But somehow it looked intimate and there was something in the eyes of Lorelai that you could tell that Lorelai had been through a rough few weeks.

Lane looked at her friend again and there were almost no similar features. 'I don't think he is the one, but you do love Italian food.' Rory laughed at her friend. 'I think that the first two are the most likely, but there is just something about him that seems familiar, I don't know why though. ' The three friends continued to look at the pictures until they heard Jess cough behind them. 'Hey guys what are you looking at.'

All three friends look at each other and then say simultaneously 'Strippers.' And laugh.

Later on Rory is sitting on her couch in the living room of the Crap Shack reading some Tolstoy when the front store opens. 'Daughter?' The voice screamed and Rory put down the book and yelled in response 'Mother!' and Lorelai came into the living room looking fabulous like always.

Lorelai was what some called Ethereal. With her almost black long curly hair, her deep blue eyes and her never ending energy she was a whirlwind and to know her was to love her, or so says a lot of the men that she had dated. Lorelai was intelligent and funny and also loyal, and could withstand almost any challenge life hit her with. She had risen to the challenge of raising a daughter by herself, and she didn't really have help from anyone, and to look at the two of them, you knew that Lorelai was successful in raising an beautiful, intelligent, and most of all a caring daughter.

'I have brought food. Ha take that society, I provide for my lovely and most intelligent daughter.' Rory looked at her mother and narrowed her eyes. 'What do you want.' Lorelai pouted.

'I am a Gilmore, that pout does not work on me.' Lorelai sighed and flopped on the couch. 'Can you cover for Michel while he goes and does his spa thing tomorrow?' Rory sighed and looked at how pathetic her mother looked. 'Yeah of course.'

Rory loved to help her mom out as much as possible, but she really needed to start working on her writing, and the closer to the wedding, the more that her mom needed her to fill in. Maybe her mom was lonely or she really wasn't aware that she worked more hours at the Inn than Lorelai did some days.

The Two of them sat and watched some TV and begun to talk about the day, and Rory was careful to leave out the part of the day that involved on her quest to find the father. Instead she told an elaborate and elongated version of the fight between her fiancé, and the the town selectman Taylor Doose on zoning.

Jess came over later that night and brought food. 'You know you are my favorite soon to be son in laws right?' Lorelai said as she ate her cheeseburger and ate some of the chilli fries at the same time. Jess just stared at his fiancé in fascination, as she seemed to be eating the exact same way. '

'I take it that I made it correctly' Jess said dryly and both Gilmore Girls nodded. Jess grinned at the women in front of him. Meeting Rory was like finally being able to breath for the first time in a long time. She had been full of energy and dreams and vision and motivation. Rory didn't make excuses and he liked that. She was blunt but in a kind way, and she let the townspeople dote on her, because if they didn't, things would be much more different. She agreed to do things for Miss Patty, or Kirk or even Taylor without much complaint, and she always helped him when he was in a rough spot.

Jess appreciated that she had dreams, and she fully intended to go after them. He knew that she would be an excellent writer, and the best invest gory journalist around, but after some harsh criticism she was reluctant to go out and go after it. But he had faith in her.

After they were finished, Jess and Rory walked hand in hand together, while Jess pictured their future, Rory couldn't help but wonder, would all three of them come? Would she finally figure out who her father was?

**TBC**


	3. Money Money Money

Money Money Money

Disclaimer: I own nothing, and no infringement intended.

A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter, and I am hoping to write the fourth chapter and have it up tomorrow morning my time which is about 3 am Toronto time… Hope you guys like this. … And to the story..

It was almost two weeks before the wedding, and the guests would be arriving soon. Lorelai had been running off her feet for the last few weeks, and every time she thought she was getting closer to getting everything done, something would come up and there would be a surprise and she would be back where she started. Sookie had been amazing and helping her, and of course Rory and Jess had been helping, but there never seem to finish all that needed to be done.

Lorelai huffed as she got another call from the caterer and wished he had just allowed Sookie to take over the main food. She hadn't wanted Sookie to be there as chef and caterer, but as best friend and aunt instead. Along with Sookie, Rachel was coming back to come to the wedding. Rachel had lived in towns for years before moving four years ago to pursue her love of photography. Rachel had worked at the Inn when Lorelai had arrived there. At first Rachel had been wary of this girl, with a young baby, and she was just waiting for Lorelai to con Mia, the Inn's owner, but instead Lorelai had done everything she could to show that she appreciated the sanctuary that she was provided.

Sookie and Rachel had become Lorelai's self made family. Sookie had been the supportive Aunt who had made sure that Rory had home made meals, since Lorelai was hopeless when it came to cooking. But living at the inn for so long, it hadn't really mattered. Rachel had been the equalizer between the three. She had been the one to make sure that there were wild adventures, but that there were some mellow times as well.

Lorelai had to be honest, and she was finding it rather difficult to accept that soon her daughter would be married and probably off doing things, while she would be alone in Stars Hallow. She was older and she realized that she hadn't been alone since she discovered she was pregnant. She always had Rory, and she didn't need anyone else. She was strong, she had done it almost by her self, and she was proud of that. She didn't need a man to tell her when or where to go, and she had proven that fact to her father.

She sometimes regrets that she didn't see more of her parents, but she was tired of being the burden, the disgrace, and she had done something no one else in her family had done. Escaped the obligations and went after what she wanted. She wanted Rory to be raised in a loving environment, and she had achieved that.

Lorelai stared down at the accounts list and sighed. She really hated doing this and Rory usually was the one, who did the accounts, but her daughter was off with her friends, and Lorelai wished she had someone to do this for her.

Lorelai pushed aside the account books and walked to the Diner, Jess made the best coffee in town, and maybe some time spent with real people and not inanimate objects would help her mood. She walked in and waved to some of the people in the Diner and sat at the counter.

Jess poured her some coffee and handed her a doughnut. 'Looks like you need this.' Lorelai smiled at him. She had to admit, Jess may be a little rough around the edges, he was a little abrupt, but Lorelai had seen the way he catered to her daughter, supported her. 'Thanks, you're my favorite son in law.' Lorelai said and smiled and Jess rolled his eyes and went to take Andrew's order.

Lorelai looked around and thought back to the past. Of her daughter growing up, and lately Lorelai had been thinking about the 'father'. She knew that she had made a mistake that summer, but when she got back from her summer in New York, which was supposed to be a summer of learning before she buckled down and worked on her college applications, she had discovered that she was pregnant. At first she didn't tell her parents, and tried as hard as she could, to act like nothing was wrong. But after one particularly disgusting dinner, she had blurted it out and that was that. Her mother moaned and groaned about what the D.A.R ladies would think, and her father just looked betrayed. All of the the plans, Gilmore's always went to Yale, and were brilliant and smart and successful. To be a maid in a small town half an hour away from Hartford wasn't something her parents could brag to their friends. That was abundantly clear.

The door opened and the bell rung above the door, and suddenly, she heard everyone gasp. She looked behind there, and there stood Rachel Littleton. Rachel was one of the few who had left the town after so much time living there. 'Lorelai!' Rachel screamed and Lorelai ran up and hugged her. 'How are ya.'? Rachel said and Lorelai grinned, waved goodbye to Jess and dragged Rachel to Sookie's house.

They three sat at the kitchen table while Sookie's kids, Martha, Davey and the new baby Linne were all down for a nap. They all had coffee and were discussing all that had happened in stars Hallow. 'I can't believe that little Rory is getting married!' Rachel said and they all grimaced at the very idea. They had all spent so much time together when Rory was little, and to think that they were brought together again because Rory was getting married.

'So Lorelai, any men in your life?' Rachel asked and Lorelai tried to be evasive. Sookie decided to interject and rolled her eyes. 'This one is too busy for a man, or so she says, but soon, she will have all the time in the world.' Lorelai glared at her friend. 'Well Stars Hallow isn't exactly known for the men. Even Kirk is in a relationship, and my daughter snapped up the last available bachelor.' Lorelai says in a defensive tone and rather than back off, her friends decided to go for the jugular.

'I am sure you are just upset that Lu..' Sookie starts to say but the look Lorelai gives her she stops midsentence. 'Who is Lu?' Rachel asks and looks at Sookie to answer her question. Sookie was suddenly interested in the tablecloth.

'Who is Lu?' Rachel asked again, this time more insistent. Lorelai huffed at Sookie and then shrugged. 'Just some guy I met when I was 16.' Lorelai tried to think of anything that would dissuade Rachel into finding out more about it. But Rachel was a pit-bull when it came to stuff like that. '16, the same age when you got pregnant.' The three friends were silent.

'Yes, but that doesn't mean anything. I've told you, I don't know who Rory's father is.' Lorelai dared them to challenge her, Lorelai knew in her heart who the father was, she just never wanted to go into that, it would hurt too much. 'Do you still have the pictures?' Lorelai shook her head.

'No, I seemed to have lost them finally, this way Rory will never see them, and she will never have to find out that I don't actually know where her father is.' The three friends looked at each other for a minute and then Sookie chose at that moment to change the subject.

Meanwhile, across town, Rory was sitting on the bridge, with the three photos beside her. Rory had taken to staring at the faces, trying to find the answers. She noticed similarities in each of the faces, and soon she found herself finding small little things in all three men that she could find in herself. She had learned from the photo that Max Medina was a reader. He had what she could see some Proust and some Tolstoy and even a Dickens in the picture, and Rory had latched onto reading since she actually learned.

When she looked at Christopher she saw the dimple that he had in his left cheek and she knew she had the same dimple, and wasn't that sort of thing hereditary. They had the same color of hair and she thought for a second that he was maybe the answer, but when she looked at Luke, something in her just knew. The way he looked at her mother, there was just something there.

She had heard his name only once uttered by her mother's mouth, and that was in a dream. When Rory was five she was terrified of the dark and she would sit on the floor by her mothers bed, where the light filtered in by the moonlight and she watch her mother sleep. She would get drowsy and fall asleep and one time she had heard her mother mutter the name Luke over and over again, and at the time she didn't think that it could be significant.

It could have just been a coincidence, but later on when Rory had mentioned it, Lorelai had immediately flown on the defensive, and by her reaction Rory knew that it just wasn't a coincidence. Beside that, there were so many similarities between herself and Luke that she didn't really know if she was possibly reaching. The eye color, the face shape, the slight tilt in the eyebrows, and the way they smiled. The hair color was also close and when Rory closed her eyes, she could almost see Luke as her dad.

No one but Lane and Paris had known what she did, and they kept warning her that she might have made a mistake. There was no guarantee that these three men were even any chance, but Rory needed to hang onto something. And she had received prompt R.S.V.P from each man, with personal notes in each to her mother on how happy they were for her.

None of them questioned why Lorelai would invited them to a wedding of the child that all three have never met or heard about, and the invitation was from a girl that they had only known for a summer. But Rory was not going to stir the pot even more.

Sometimes she found herself wishing she could confide in Jess, but if he knew, he would not approve. He had a horrible relationship with his father and his mother, so why would she want to complicate her life with the addition of a father. Jess just didn't understand, that at least he knew who his father was, and that he could try and salvage a relationship whenever he wanted, all he had to do was call (and he had a number, she had seen it in his apartment once) and all the time he was wasting by being angry.

Rory sighed and put the pictures away carefully and put them in her bag, and make sure she made it home before her mom was home, so she could put the pictures back in the hiding spot. The three dad candidates were coming soon, and she had to make sure that she was ready. Rory left the bridge and headed toward the house and all the while hoping that the sense that things were about to change was just about getting married, and not what she was bringing to Stars Hallow.

TBC


	4. Thanks For The Music

**Thank You For The Music**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in this. It's sad really. **

**Author's Note: I hope you guys like this chapter, I felt it was time to get a little back story, and I think that next chapter is going to be a good one. I am even updating this story on my birthday.. !**

It was officially 5 days until the wedding, and Rory was manning the desks while some of the guests were checking into the Inn. With the Inn only having 20 rooms, of course not all of the guests were staying there. Luckily Rory had dealt with the reservations and told her mother implicitly so, and she had even threatened Michel with damaging all of his precious Celine Dion CD's if he tried to change any of the reservations she had taken, Rory was definitely in charge.

Jess had been text messaging Rory stupid little observations about the slew of tourists that had come into Stars Hallow that morning, and Rory was so busy responding she hadn't noticed three men all enter the Inn at the same time. They weren't that special, all around their late thirties, dress casually, but all differently, and they were all looking at the Inn in amazement.

'So this is what Gilmore achieved?' The first man had said to the other and he smiled. 'She always said she would do it, but I never guessed that she would make it so… Lorelai.' The man shrugged casually and put down his bags. The second man looked around looked at the other men, wondering why they were there. 'Are you here for the wedding?' He asked and both men who were distracted by different things. 'Yes.' The third man said simply, but he was a simple man.

The third man hadn't noticed the Inn particularly, and he hadn't wondered why he had arrived at the same time as two other men, he just wasn't the wonder why kind of guy, instead he was focused on the young women at the front desk. He had flashbacks of a young girl with the same features, and the best summer of his life, and also the most heartbreaking. He looked at the eyes, and that's when he almost left, those eyes were something he had seen before, they were slightly different, but that was probably due that they belonged to someone else, but he felt like he already knew this person.

The young girl looked up surprised to see the three men, and she put her cell phone down and looked apologetic. 'I'm sorry, I got distracted, I can check you in now…' Rory said and then the color drained from her faces. At first they were far enough away that she didn't see their features, but now as they stood before her, even after they had changed, she could see dad number 1, Dad number 2, and dad number 3.

'Uh, if you just want me to give your names and the credit card you booked with.' Rory said weakly and tried to smile. The first man stepped forward. 'Hi, I'm Max Medina, and here's the card.' Rory took it and ran in the information on the computer and then handed him the key. 'You're in room 14, which is up the stairs, and straight down the right. Your bag's will be delivered in a few minutes.' Max smiled at her and went to the stairs without a second glance.

The second man stepped forward and smiled jovially at her. 'I'm Christopher Hayden, and here's the company card.' Christopher flashed her a smile, and tapped on the desk impatiently. Rory sneaked a peek, and the similarities were a lot more jarring while staring at the man face to face. Rory got the key and got him to sign and told him exactly how to get to his room.

That left Luke. Luke gave her the name and the card of course, but he seemed to be more interested in staring at her. 'I'm sorry, do I have something on my face?' Rory said cautiously, and Luke looked startled and looked down for a second. 'Uh no, you just.. seem familiar.' Luke replies and Rory smiles. 'I'm Lorelai's daughter Rory, well Lorelai Leigh, but mom being in pain and on Demerol, and I am sure that she was sixteen didn't help insisted that if men could name their sons after them, why couldn't she?'

Luke smiles at the mere mention of the name Lorelai, but when he hears how old Lorelai was. 'So wow, that was a little too much information for a stranger, uh, you are in room eight, and I will have someone bring up your bag soon. Have a nice stay.'

Rory hands the key and hopes she hasn't blown it yet, but something in the way that Luke had looked at her, unsettled her, like he already knew the secret.

'Is Lorelai around? It would be nice to see her again.' Rory looked panicked, trying to find any other excuse than .. Well she doesn't know your coming. You may be my father, surprise!

'Uh no, she is doing errands in Hartford.. And actually she kinda doesn't know you're coming.' Rory said weakly, already regretting that she had put in that last part.

Luke stops and just stares. 'What? But the invitation was from her.' Rory scratches her eyebrow in a nervous manner, which she had always done, and shrugged. 'I wanted to invite some of Mom's old friends to the wedding; kinda like an impromptu 'this is your life'. She'll love it don't you thinks?'

Luke looked around. 'This was a mistake, your mother definitely doesn't want to see me, and so I am going to just..' Rory leans over and puts her hand on his shoulder, which makes Luke stop completely.

'Please, if you are here, then maybe she'll reveal a few things to me, and she still says your name when she sleeps.' Rory finishes and takes her hand off of his shoulder, and Luke doesn't move, but then sighs and takes the key off of the desk and walks upstairs without a word to Rory.

Rory looks up at the stairs even when he is already up stairs, and wonders if she has already messed it up.

Her mother came in and looked around. 'I heard we got some of the guests, everything go ok?' Rory smiled thankful that they were all upstairs at the moment. 'Yeah, no problems, Taylor called and said he had to talk to you about some sort of section of the town code, that we are breaking?'

Lorelai screamed and stormed out of the Inn and Rory looked up at the stairs trying to see if anyone heard Lorelai's burst of anger. There was no movement.

An hour later, Rory went to deliver the extra towels that Lorelai insisted that each guest at the Inn get. She went to Luke's room first and when he opened the door, he looked surprised to see her there. 'Uh Hi, here is the extra towels; my mom insists that everyone have them.. So yeah.' Rory looked awkward and Luke stepped aside so she could put them down on the desk. 'Is the room ok? Sookie will be serving Dinner at 6:45 tonight, and she is making her risotto. It's amazing.'

Luke looks mildly interested and nods politely. Just before Rory moves to leave the room, that's when Rory sees an old picture, almost identical to the one that was hidden under her mattress, with Lorelai and Luke looking care free. Rory hightails it out of the room and goes to deliver the towels to Max and Christopher, and try not to focus on how awkward she was around Luke.

Later on that night, after the guests had been fed, and Rory had gone to spend some time with Jess, Lorelai was locking her office when she could have sworn she saw an old face from her past come into the Inn. She ran out of the office, and looked around and there was no one was there. Lorelai shrugged and put it up to the stress of the Wedding and walked out of the Inn and towards the crap shack.

She had heard from Sookie that three of the guests were particularly handsome. 'Especially the rugged one, he is definitely your type.' Sookie had said and Lorelai tried not to hurt her friend's feelings when she said that she just wasn't into dating guests.

For some reason, in the last few months, Lorelai had been thinking about Luke a lot. She wondered after all of these years if he was married, what had he ended up doing? Was he going into the family business, or did he go another way.

Lorelai had met Luke during her third week of being in New York. It was a program run by Colombia, for high school students to see the way the real world worked. They would do volunteer work, and worked a little to get some experience, and took seminars about subjects that they would never take in high school. It was her father's idea, and as long as she got out of Hartford, and could spend some real time in New York, Lorelai was happy.

Luke was on a scholarship and was down in New York, to do some games with his teammates. Luke was young and hot, and Lorelai had been attracted from the very beginning. He had gotten her a coffee, and had complimented her on her t-shirt, and had conned her into going out on a date, and she was a goner from that very moment. Lorelai had given all of herself to Luke, and also her virginity, and thought that somehow they would be together forever.

They had spent almost four weeks wrapped in each other and suddenly Luke had to go back to Colorado and Lorelai was devastated. They were supposed to have one more date, and Lorelai had arrived at the designated spot, and Luke never showed. Being worried, she had gone to where Luke's team were staying and discovered that Luke was gone, his team had left, and Luke hadn't even let her know. And even if Lorelai had wanted to speak to Luke, she couldn't. They never talked about contact information.

Lorelai had been heartbroken and tried to focus on the program again, but she started talking to one of the boys that was in the same program. Christopher was cocky and he made her laugh. He took her mind off of Luke, and after one night of too many tequila shots, she slept with him.

Lorelai was not that kind of girl, no matter what anyone said. Immediately she felt stupid and distanced herself from Christopher, and was looking forward to going home. She had a month left, that's when she met Max Medina. Max worked at his family's pizzeria, and when she had a major craving for a supreme pizza, that's when she met him.

Max was a local, and he was intelligent and he was a great way to distract Lorelai. He took her all over the city and he made her laugh, but there was something so serious about Max that made Lorelai wary at times. After one night, when he had arranged a dinner, no different than the one in Lady and the Tramp, Lorelai found herself seduced, and well… she felt like she had made a huge mistake yet again.

Lorelai didn't bother in saying goodbye to any of these men. The only one she had wanted to was Luke, and he was long gone and she had no contact information. Lorelai was alone, and it wasn't until a few months later, that she would discovered that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't leave the men behind, because she had a forever souvenir. Rory.

Lorelai was just about at the crap shack when she heard a noise, the gazebo was already set up for the wedding, and although it took a lot of work to twist Taylor's arm, she knew she had to do it. But it wasn't the decorations that caught Lorelai's eye; it was the fact that a face she hadn't seen in Rory's lifetime was suddenly staring at her from said gazebo.

Lorelai's mouth was open in shock and she felt her feet moving towards the gazebo. 'What are you doing here.'? Lorelai shouted….

TBC


	5. Mama Mia

**Mama Mia**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. No infringement intended. **

**AN: I'm so sorry about the delay. Life has been crazy. I am moving, I got back from England, went to the cottage, and a million other things happened. Hopefully I will get the new chapter out soon. Don't know exactly when, but soon.. I promise**!

Lorelai looked in shock that Luke Danes, was in her town, in her gazebo when her daughter was getting married. 'Uh hi.' Luke says and stands up and Lorelai looks around to see if candid camera was around. 'What are you doing in my town?' Luke scratched his eyebrow in a nervous gesture, and it startles Lorelai in a way she had not been expecting.

'I came for the weekend, you always talked about how beautiful Connecticut was during this time.' Lorelai stepped closer and she was suddenly remembered certain things about Luke that she had forgotten. He smelt the same, like leather and something clean and fresh, and his eyes were still that same color that made her feel a little bit woozy, and even thought almost 24 years had passed, she still felt the same as when she did at 16.

'Are you kidding? That…' Lorelai suddenly felt trapped, unsure and unable to actually form words and she just turned around and ran, leaving Luke in her dust. All the while, Lorelai had to find Rory, had to explain that he was in town, and have to reveal all that she had gone through. It was odd, that it would be this week that he would come. This wasn't something she needed.

Was he staying in her Inn, the one that she had put her blood, sweat and tears into? Mia had given her the Independence, and she had run it for five years before an accident burned almost half of the building down. Lorelai was devastated, her home, and her livelihood was gone. Luckily she had insurance and she had to work hard to get her mortgage and everything, but she had done it on her own. And she was proud.

Rory was sitting on the couch when she came back and Lorelai suddenly remembered that Rory had been the one to check in the new guests, the nearest hotel outside of Stars Hallow was in Hartford which was thirty minutes from here. Maybe Rory had never checked him in, but Lorelai couldn't risk it.

'Hey sweetie, so tell me about the guests that came today.' Rory looked at Lorelai warily, since she had never questioned anything like that before. 'Three guys, there booked for almost the whole week, paid by credit card?' Rory said and Lorelai nodded. The likeliness that Rory knew who Luke was, was slim. Rory wouldn't have figured it out.. Right?

'Did any of them mention why they were here?' Lorelai asked again and she was too busy trying to figure out why Luke Danes was in her town, that she didn't notice Rory fidget. 'I didn't really ask them Mom. Are you ok?' Rory asked and Lorelai nodded and faked a yawn and hurried upstairs and tried to forget that Luke was in town.

The next morning, Lorelai was called into the Inn due to an emergency, or Michel being too lazy to actually deal with a reasonable problem, and she had spent an hour trying to convince one of the guests not to leave, after Michel had accused them of being spies for a competitive Inn in Woodbridge.

After having her morning.. Well fifth cup of coffee, Lorelai had gone to the front desk to go over the upcoming events that the Inn was responsible for, when she heard a cough behind her and when she looked over a man was smiling at her.

'Is there anything I can help with you?' the man chuckled and he stepped closer, and there was something about his smile that seemed familiar. 'I can't believe you don't remember me?' Lorelai tried to think that maybe someone she used to work with at the Independence Inn, but she couldn't think of anyone that looks like him.

'I'm sorry, did you work at the Independence?' The man just chuckles. 'Come on Lor, don't you remember an old friend?' Suddenly Lorelai had a flash of a summer a long time ago, and one particular day when a boy had managed to make her smile even after her heart was broken so badly.

'Christopher?' The man chuckled and stepped even closer and they were almost toe-to-toe, and he shrugged. 'I have a conference close by, and I read about the place in a magazine, so I figured why not, and here you are.' Lorelai just stood there amazed. She was brought back to that summer, and a lot of time she spent with a Christopher Hayden.

After the traumatic end of her relationship with Luke Danes, Lorelai figured there was nothing more for her to do but to concentrate on the course. She had spent three days at the daycare, where she was currently fulfilling the programs mandatory volunteer ship when Christopher Hayden (another rich boarding school kid) came up to her and asked her if she wanted to go out to dinner. Christopher was from the same type of family, one full of pressure and expectation, that they had hit it off right away. Lorelai was very much aware that she was just occupying her mind with Chris, and she had no problem with that.

Only a week after their first meeting, Chris had conned her into going to a hot bar in the village. He had challenged her to a shot to shot competition, and Lorelai was a proud champion of that very game in her dorm. It took a while, but the next thing she knew she woke up at the Waldorf Astoria, naked and not remembering anything. She knew she had done something, but Lorelai never knew for sure what had happened.

She had gotten up, and walked out of the room and avoided Christopher, all the while feeling incredibly guilty that she had somehow betrayed Luke. She never thought when she left the summer program that she would ever see his face again, and the likeliness of seeing two men that she had met her one summer of escape in a span of 24 hours seemed fishy to her.

Lorelai sat down and had a very awkward conversation with him, all the while trying to figure out why she felt so violated that he was here. Lorelai never knew what had happened that night and she never truly ever looked for the answers. She knew she wasn't attacked, and that it was probably two drunk kids and daddy's credit card that made whatever happen, well happen. But the idea that he was here, a place that was so profoundly hers, made her feel very uncomfortable. Chris had to go and she never felt so grateful for that and hoped that she could limit her run ins with him.

Lorelai tried to forget the weird feeling she got and found something else to do that needed her attention. Lorelai sorted through some papers and called the florist to make sure the flowers for the wedding were in order and then she went back to the crap shack and hid under her covers and tried to ignore Luke's twinkling blue eyes.

That night, it was the weekly town meeting, and Lorelai had to fight with Taylor in public to get everything sorted out for the last details of Rory's wedding. Town meetings were always her favorite part of life in Stars Hallow, and it was the first real thing she got into, when she had moved here.

Lorelai was well known by all of the townspeople, and they were all somehow involved in her life in some way. Lorelai was late per usual, and sat in her usual seat next to Lane and Zach and they waved at her as she sat down. She watched as Gipsy and Andrew argued over whom was at fault at the fender bender that had happened two weeks ago. Lorelai had plans to corner Taylor and make sure he knew the consequences of messing with her so close to the wedding.

After the meeting was over, a lot of the people were approaching her about the upcoming nuptials of her only daughter. Rory was the town princess, and the fact that she was marrying the newest member of the town who had opened up a rather necessary and important place in town, there was noting but acceptance.

Just as she was about to charge at Taylor she saw a face that seemed familiar. There was something about the black hair, and the deep brown eyes, and even in the clothes, something rebellious about him. Just like some bad lifetime movie, she was face to face with another ex boyfriend from the same summer.

She walks closer and he turns around and notices her and he smiles. It's easy and full of confidence and so not what the previous two meetings with the exes had been. Max leans in to hug her before she knows it and he smiles easily at her and Lorelai feels comfortable. 'Lorelai Gilmore.' And she smiles back at him. 'Maxwell Medina.' Lorelai notices Taylor sneaking away and she puts a finger up to indicate to give her a minute and she storms over and rips Taylor a new one, and by the time she is finished, Taylor is looking rather green and nervous and she gets back to Max before he really notices that she is gone.

Max Medina was a saving grace all those years ago in New York, after being so hurt by Luke, and somewhat taken advantage of by Chris, it was so refreshing to meet someone who was just as cynical as she was. She met Max at a pizzeria that she had found one day during her wanderings. After talking to him for a while he took her to a record shop in Soho and they had argued over David Bowie. She had never before met someone who was so passionate about music and the lyrics and everything that had to do with it.

Max had taken her to a few record stores and even snuck her into a concert in a smoky club in Brooklyn. Lorelai had spent most of her time playing tourist with Max that she didn't really think of her broken heart and broken trust. There was something about Max that made her wary at times though. He was cynical and dark at times and it made her yearn for the vapid friends of her boarding school. Max spoke of true issues of politics and the future, and Lorelai felt sometimes inadequate, since she was sixteen and never really spent a great deal of time considering the answers.

It was only three days left in New York and in her program when Max had arranged one final date. Lorelai never really considered them dating but she didn't feel the need to explain that to Max. When she walked into his family's restaurant, it was closed down for the occasion and he had made it romantic and wonderful and Lorelai had a bad feeling about this. After the meal and her very first bottle of wine, she had found herself having sex on the floor behind the counter on soft flannel sheets and the mood music. She had said goodbye, kissed him on the cheek and promised that if she was ever in New York to look him up and she had flippantly had said the same.

And here he was, almost twenty-three years later in her small town, and rather than feeling trapped or suspicious it seemed right. She knew it would somehow happen that she would see him again. Max more felt like an old friend than a lover or boyfriend material.

Lorelai spent an hour catching up and when she parted with him, she felt strangely like fate was kicking her in the butt. The three candidates were in town together at the same time at such a precarious time in her daughter's life. Something smelt fishy to Lorelai, and she just didn't want to admit that it was something more.

No one truly knew what had happened during that summer in 1984. She never told her parents about the three men that could be her baby's father, and whenever they asked her the question she hated answering, she would always just say that it didn't matter anymore, and leave the room rather quickly.

As she was walking towards her house she caught a glimpse of Luke and her heart started to ache. To think on how much in love with him she had been all these years, and he looks so good. She sometimes would think about him at random moments, especially after Rory had done something that made her wish that her daughter had a father, and if she was honest, she always hoped that her daughter resulted from one of their moments together. Chris always felt like a dirty secret, and Max was just something to counteract all the bad that had happened to her during the summer, but Luke was true.

He smiled at her and she felt her heart melt a bit and that feeling in her stomach that made her feel like she was on a rollercoaster. 'Hey.' Luke said simply and she had to smile at him. She could allude her heart into thinking this was no big deal. 'I'm sorry about just showing up here, but it just seemed like the place to be.' Luke said and Lorelai and Luke walked towards the bench that faced the gazebo and the entire town square.

'So how have you been?' Lorelai asked, choosing not to touch upon what he had just said. Luke seemed to be at ease and she tried to think back on the Luke Danes she had known. She remembered that he was the most handsome boy she had met, that he had looked at her like she was his last meal and that he had been almost too sweet to be real. 'I've been fine, I played professional baseball for awhile, and now I coach professionally in Philadelphia.' Lorelai nodded and looked at her hands. 'I well live and work here. The Dragonfly is my baby, well my other baby, not my actual baby, that's Rory, uh..' Lorelai stumbled out and Luke looked perplexed.

'You have a baby?' Luke said and if anyone else had been there they would have noticed the distinct sound of disappointment in his voice. 'Well not anymore. Rory is 23, and well she hadn't been a baby in a long time.' Lorelai got up. 'I have to go, guests will be arriving tomorrow. We are having a wedding here in town, so.. I guess I will see you around later on.' Lorelai leaned into to hug him and she tried not to sniff him once, and she waves and hopes that this is the last time she runs into him.

'Mama Mia.' Lorelai said flippantly to the air and the silence around her as she hurries home.

TBC


	6. Chiquita

Chiquita

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the places, or anything basically.

AN: I know it's short, but I promise that the next chapter is going to be much longer.

Sookie had heard about the new guests and especially she knew that there was some connection between all of them with Lorelai. Her friend and business partner was always busy, running around, but with Rory's wedding and business being booming, Lorelai was busier than ever. That's why Sookie took time away from her husband Jackson and her two kids, to spend some time with her friend. Rachel was due to come over after visiting some family who lived in Stamford.

When Sookie got to the house, the door was unlocked per usual and when she stepped in, she didn't hear the TV on, or the stereo on, which struck her as odd. Lorelai had always turned on something to make noise, since she was virtually incapable of existing in silence. 'Lorelai?' Sookie called and she didn't hear a reply. Paul Anka was lying near Rory's room and when she stuck her head in, there was no Lorelai. Sookie decided to check upstairs and just as she was about to climb the stairs Rachel came in the front door too and Sookie made a motion for her to follow her.

They both got to Lorelai's room and there was Lorelai with her head underneath a pillow and she was silent. 'Lorelai?' Rachel called this time and Lorelai just made a grunting noise and continued to hide from the two of them, and possibly the world. 'Sweetie, what are you doing?' Sookie asked and Rachel and Sookie both sat on the Queen sized bed.

'Hmmpff' Lorelai mumbled beneath her prison of linen, feathers and cotton. Both Sookie and Rachel looked at each other worried for their friend. 'Hon, what's the matter?' Sookie reached out and tried to pry the blankets out of Lorelai's death grip, but they stayed just as they were. Rachel crept closer to Lorelai and tried to tickle her and she muffled a laugh but there was no real movement, and then Sookie left to lure Lorelai out of the bed the only way she knew how.

Meanwhile, under the covers Lorelai kept on going over her entire history of knowing Luke. Had she somehow sent some panic vibe that he got, or was it just a coincidence. To think that Rory had checked him in and Lorelai hoped that somehow the vibes weren't released that would let Rory know who this man was.

Lorelai remembered one night in particular, when they had just moved into the house, and Rory was four, Lorelai had sat in the empty living room and tried hard to think of a way to contact Luke. She had felt that he should know that there was a possibility that he had a daughter. Before she was to o angry, too hurt and too scared to really take the effort to try to find him. She had felt like she was wiser and older, and she had heard her daughter cry that she didn't have a father, and she felt like somehow she was doing something wrong, because of that. She never wanted her daughter to feel anything but wonderful.

It took her a few months, but she finally found Luke. She almost flew down to Colorado and when she had booked the flight and that's when she had found out, Luke was engaged. She had stumbled on an engagement announcement and there he was smiling rather charmingly with a blonde woman. Nicole Leahy, Lorelai remembered her name, and after that she didn't even attempt to find him ever again.

Lorelai heard Sookie and Rachel in her room again and she smelt the sweet smells of coffee and she groaned and she sat up, released her almost death grip on the blankets. Sookie and Rachel looked at their friend worriedly, and Lorelai got up a little wobbly, and took the mug and drank the coffee slowly, hoping to distract her friends a little bit.

It took her a shower, changing into real clothes and a few tissues, and she was finally ready to tell her friends what was wrong.

'He's back.' She had said rather dramatically and of course her friends were completely lost. 'Luke Danes, the most likely father of my only child, the one who is getting married in three days!' Sookie started giggling. 'It's so romantic, he has come back to…' then Sookie suddenly realizes it's not quite as she thought it had been. 'Wait, one of the men that you had that summer you refuse to talk about has come back.' Rachel says and Lorelai shrugs. 'Actually all three men I slept with that summer are here in my town, staying in the Inn, and are going to be here during Rory's wedding, and they have all seen her.'

Rachel and Sookie both looked rather shocked. 'Which is why I was hiding under my blankets. The last time I did that I just found out I was pregnant and I had to tell my parents.'

After some more coffee she had filled in her friends about her separate meetings of the three men. She had left Luke's last because it had taken more out of her than hours and hours spent with Christopher and Max. 'You really loved him?' Rachel asked finally and Lorelai had looked at both of them and tried to come up with an answer that wouldn't break her heart. 'I think I love him more now than before. And it pisses me off.'

Lorelai left with her friends and headed to the Inn, there were so many details to look after for the wedding, and Rory was in Hartford picking up the bridesmaid's dresses with Lane and Paris, so it was up to her to look after things while trying to be the manager of the inn at the same time.

Lorelai looked around to make sure that none of the men were near the front desk and she sneaked behind it and tried to look so busy they wouldn't dare approach her.

Sookie went back to the kitchen to cook for the lunch service and Rachel took some of the errands off of Lorelai's hands and no one was around. Lorelai had just gone through and double-checked the reservations for the next month when she felt eyes on her and there was Luke. She looked down so fast that she doubted that he noticed she had looked at him. Still her cheeks stung with a blush and she couldn't figure out why.

There was something about him that seemed to affect her in ways she had forgot about. He stepped right up to the desk and she could smell him, and she tried hard to act like he had not made her melt into mush just by the sight of him.

'Hi Lorelai.' The sounds of his voice makes her skin erupt in Goosebumps and she tries to act nonchalant and smiles. 'Hi Luke, what can I do for you?' Luke leaned in and his finger grazed Lorelai's arm and suddenly Lorelai was aware of that one spot of her body, it felt that all of her nerves in her entire body had all stopped working and that brief inch of skin felt everything.

'I was wondering if you would go for a cup of coffee with me?' Luke asked and Lorelai tried hard not to concentrate on his finger still touching her. 'I would love to… but I have to arrange Rory's wedding.' Luke's eyes widen at the mention of Rory and he steps back and Lorelai pants in reactions, and hopes he doesn't notice.

'Alright, I guess I will see you around.' He turns around leaves and it leaves Lorelai sagging on the counter. Sookie comes bursting in and giggles. 'So that's one of them?' and Lorelai continues to stare at where Luke once stood. 'Not only is that one of them, I think that's the one.'

TBC


	7. Dancing Queen

Dancing Queen

Disclaimer:

I don't own anything. No harm, No sue.

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long, I moved, and getting ready for school and waiting for bell to come and hook up the phone takes more persuasion than I care to acknowledge. I think that next chapter will come out quicker, because let's face it… it's such a good song!

"When you say the one, do you mean the one that is Rory's Dad, or the one meaning the ultimate soul mate one?" Sookie asked obviously in shock and Lorelai looked panicked, well just as panicked as before, but the ultimate question was put before her, what did she mean?

"I don't know Sook, all I know is that a man I haven't seen in my daughters lifetime plus almost a year came to my town, at this particular time in my life, and every time he is within fifty feet, it effects me in ways that I can't explain.' Lorelai leaned on counter like she couldn't hold herself up anymore and just stared in nothing, while Sookie stirred and looked nervously at her best friend.

'Sweetie, you're probably overwrought, what with running this place with no help from Michel.' They both heard a disgruntled shout from the hallway and they both grinned. 'And Rory's wedding, and all that you do around the town, and now with the three bachelors. It's like you are in some freaky dating game, only you've slept with all of them, and you are slightly biased to one of the bachelors.'

Lorelai huffed and gathered some of the waste Sookie had produced and threw it in the trash. 'Yeah, but there is nothing I can do about that.' Sookie shrugged. 'Let's have a girls night out, make sure you get some leisure time as well. It could be a karaoke night?' Lorelai shrugged. 'Alright, but you are so buying me some shots.'

Sookie and Lorelai invited Rachel along and headed to Kerry O'Kee's outside of Woodbridge that Sookie and Lorelai went to after any bad news. The owner, Kerry O'Keefe was a former Vegas act that had married a rich man and decided to open up a bar that would let women meets their future spouses. It was dark, Smokey, with flash and fake glamour that made Lorelai love the place.

At first they did some shots, and decided to slow down and settle on cocktails and for Sookie virgin Daiquiri since she was the designated driver. All three of them turned around to watch a balding man in a three-piece suit that had seen better days since boyfriend by Ashlee Simpson. Rachel was looking at the sight before her in abject horror and somewhat amusement. Rachel and Sookie had been comparing which of the current old flames of their friend and the Inn's guest was cuter. Lorelai just sat and watched in horror at some of the performances.

'Sweetie can I ask you a question?' Sookie asked and Lorelai was suddenly brought back that she was with her friends. 'Sure.' Sookie and Rachel looked at each other cunningly and grinned. 'Do you still love this Luke guy?' Lorelai just stared at her friends dumbfounded. 'Why would you ask that?' she huffed and went to the bar to get another drink, leaving her friends in her dust.

The reasons for what happened net, is really depending on the interpretation of the people at the bar. To her friends it was the direct effect of the very question they asked her. Did she love Luke? Of course she did. He was the first, and at times the last, and he could be her daughter's father, and of course there was that unrequited thing that makes heartbeats wilder, and temperatures flare up.

To think of the boy from long ago and the man she had a run in with today and yesterday, and it made her feel like maybe it wasn't what she thought it was. She didn't know if she should ask him why he just left. And why he made it look easy for him to talk to her.

She came back to the table and both Sookie and Rachel looked at her unsure at what she would do, but she put on a smile and they turned around just as Kirk stepped on stage.

'This goes to all of single ladies in the crowd.' The lights in the bar dimmed and then the disco light went crazy and the bars of the song filled the room very loudly and Lorelai grinned. This is why she loved her town. Because Kirk Gleason lived in this town. Kirk was indefinable, and he should be studied. You couldn't blame anything other than being born and raised and loving Stars Hallow.

'Is this for real?' Sookie asked and Lorelai shrugged and smiled while watching Kirk dance like John Travolta. Rachel had already snorted her drink a little bit and Sookie was in a fit of giggles. 'This is why I love this place.' Not really noticing two guys sneaked into the door and sat at the table.

'Wow, this is quite a place?' Christopher stated and Max nodded. 'I can't believe they don't advertise.' Max said and he looked around and grimaced at a thin guy on stage butchering an Abba song. The guys had decided to spend a night away from the town and had managed to stumble across the bar quite by accident.

Christopher was upset that he hadn't had any real conversation with Lorelai. He was shocked really when he got that invitation and honestly he hadn't really thought of the possibility of seeing Lorelai again. He had been utterly enchanted by her since the first day of that stupid summer program. She had laughed in a caustic way at a statement that one of the teachers had said and he knew he had found his soul mate.

Unfortunately, he learned pretty quickly that Lorelai had a boyfriend, or that's what her roommate said. Some chump from Colorado, and he tried as hard as he could to separate them. But finally he just managed to win in the end, and caused the whole team that the so called boyfriend was on to go home earlier than expected and left no goodbye, and threw away the message for Lorelai. She no longer had to worry about some bad decision.

Lorelai had spent some great days with him, but after their night together she would never look at him in the eye, or talk to him and avoided him at all costs, and Christopher learnt the ultimate lesson. If you mess with fate, karma is going to kick you in the ass. He had seen her smiling with some guy and it had broke his heart, and he tried to forget her, and he thought he was doing a great job until he got that invitation.

Max on the other hand had never been ashamed of his actions. He had met an amazing girl and he had found someone who could argue over music tastes he had never really seen in a girl. She had looked broken and devastated in a way that no 16 years old should have experienced.

He had taken her all over the city and he would plan for hours on how to make her laugh, to make those sad blue eyes flicked with sparks that she had whenever she laughed. He had one moment with her that he thought meant that they would be more than friends, but she was gone three days later, and he had felt a little sad but he got over it. There was more amazing girls out there to meet.

Lorelai was staring at Kirk dumbfounded who was trying to work the tight bell-bottom pants and the feather boa that suddenly has appeared out of nowhere and tried so hard not to laugh. 'Oh Lord.' Sookie muttered and hid her face in her drink (virgin of course) and tried not to let anyone know that she was thinking. Lorelai just shook her head, and from the corner of her eye she saw Max and Christopher sitting to her left. 'Typical' she huffed and took a shot of tequila that she had ordered earlier. Rachel noticed and looked around and grinned. 'Hey isn't that the other two?' Lorelai just glared at Rachel. 'I have to get out of here, I have to go somewhere, that doesn't have exes and men.' Sookie and Rachel nodded at her, as if they knew how much turmoil she was going through and Lorelai grabbed her purse and left the bar and she didn't notice that the two men who made her leave never noticed that she had left.

She got home pretty fast and the house was dark and silent and she decided that a walk would somehow make all three of them disappear. She was thinking back on the day she was supposed to meet Luke. She had spent almost eight months going through any sign that she was the fool she was feeling she was at the moment.

Did he feel the same way, she had asked herself a million times, and after so much time, and actually seeing him again, she had to ask herself again…'did he feel the same way?' and if he found out that he could be her daughter's father.. Would he want any part of that?

Lorelai wanted answers, and she knew that the only way to get it was to confront Luke. But how would she do it? The image of Luke from the past was always a whisper in the back of her mind. She had purposely put Luke far enough from her mind's eye that she wasn't reminded day in and day out that he had left her. She tried not to be bitter about it, but it was kind of hard that she was reminded of him every time she looked in her daughter's eyes.

TBC


	8. Lay All Your Life On Me

Lay all your life on me

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's Note: I am going to be explaining Jess's back ground and life, and it's not like the cannon of the show. Liz and Jimmy are still together, although Jimmy tends to look like well jimmy, but has T.J's personality ( and his love of air pants hehe) and Doula is around but older and she is a doctor. Obviously Luke isn't related because that may be awkward later on. I hope this clears things up.

Rory had spent most of the week avoiding her mother that by the time the week was over she was exhausted. It was her wedding in two days, and tonight was her bachelorette party, and knowing that one of the Gilmore girls was getting married, every woman in town was coming. A Gilmore event was always a raucous time. Rory walked into the Diner, and smiled as she saw her fiancée dealing with Kirk Gleason. 'Come on Jess, let me spy on Rory's party!' Kirk whined all the while dressed in his P.I get up. Kirk had his P.I license and was trying to spy on the people of the town. 'Kirk if you do not leave my sight in the next three seconds.' Jess growled and Kirk bolted almost crashing into Rory in the process.

'Hey!' they both said to each other at the same time. Rory had been so busy she hadn't been able spend time with Jess, and he didn't even know about her potential fathers. Jess looked around and the Diner was pretty dead. 'Cesar I'm going to be upstairs.' Jess then pulls Rory upstairs and pushes her against the wall of his apartment door and kisses her. 'Why haven't I seen you?' Jess says and slowly kisses her neck and Rory grins. 'Wedding stuff, we are in the home stretch.'

Jess sighed his lips still brushing against Rory's neck. 'You know before you, I wasn't possessive, I was laid back and never jealous and the very idea of you away from me drives me crazy.' Rory giggles. 'I like it that way, keep at it, it seems to work.' Jess starts to kiss her slowly and Rory grins. 'Well the minute I saw you I was struck; I knew that I had to meet you, talk to you, kiss you. Your it for me.' Jess opened the apartment door and they stumbled inside and it was a miracle that they didn't collapse on the floor instead of the couch.

"I've don't think I've ever felt this way.' Rory whispered and Jess continued to kiss her. The phone rang and Jess groaned. 'It's probably your mother or Lane looking for you. It's your bachelorette tonight.' Jess said almost like he was informing her. Rory rolled her eyes. 'Its more for my mom and aunt Rachel than for me.' Jess answered the phone gruffly, and by his stance and his sudden dampening mood, Rory knew exactly who it was. His parents.

Jess came from a normal family in Brooklyn or so he told Rory one night not too long before he proposed. Jess was the only son of an artistic family. Liz Mariano was a renaissance woman, or so she liked to think, she dallied (dallied being the operative word here) in jewelry and fashion and anything that meant she could work with her hands. Jimmy was a carpenter by trade and he loved to paint, and would spend hours covering almost every surface in the Mariano apartment with paint. Jess grew up in chaos and the minute he could, he went away to college. He worked every kind of job to pay for college, but he did it.

He got a degree in Literature with a minor in business, and he immediately started up a publishing house with some of his buddies from school. Letters Publishing was born and Jess had written three books in four years, and everything was going well.

They were bought out by a much bigger publishing company, and Jess was suddenly well off and he didn't have to struggle anymore. Jess had a little breakdown, and realized he couldn't write anymore. Whatever came out was garbled and he made sure his partners were ok, and decided to find something else he loved.

One of the jobs Jess had actually loved while working in college was the local Diner near his campus. He loved to cook and when he had wandered in Stars Hallow and discovered that they didn't have any Diner, he knew it was the perfect place.

And of course the minute he saw Rory, he knew that he had made the right choice. She was everything he wanted, and suddenly he had found inspiration, but he hadn't told her yet. As a wedding present he was giving her the manuscript of the new novel he had just finished.

'Are you parents coming to the wedding?' Rory asked and Jess actually shuddered. 'Yeah.. Welcome to hell.' Jess said flippantly, but Jess made these comments. His parents embarrassed him. That's what they did. It seemed to be a Mariano tradition. Jimmy would usually go on and on about his latest painting or some stupid project he had focused all of his attention on and forget about his kids' or anything really tat needed to be right then. Liz would try to sell her stuff to people around her, whether they were strangers or people she had known her entire life. And then there was Jess's sister Dee, whose real name was Doula, but to her that was just too embarrassing.

Dee was certainly hoped that the future generations of Marianos could be semi normal. Dee was halfway through her residency at a hospital in Massachusetts. She still spoke to her parents, but never came home, using her residency as her excuse. It wasn't that she was ashamed, but aware that her family was nowhere near normal, and that sometimes you could go into overdrive around them.

Rory came from a different world, definitely not perfect, but for some, it was the closes to perfection you could get. He couldn't wait to get married, and they could continue there life without doubts.

Jess hung up the phone after a few minutes and he looked over and Rory was knee deep in a novel that she had somehow brought with her and he smiled at her. He never thought he would meet anyone who had the same love for literature.

Jess knew that Roy felt like she was missing something, because of her mysterious father. He had seen her look almost agonized sometimes when she saw clear but father/daughter moments around town, and Jess wished he could fix that for her. But he was glad that she was able to move on and be happy. He didn't even know what she would do if he just showed up in town one day. But from what he heard, Lorelai wasn't really sure of who it was, so he felt safe in that.

'Hey, I gotta get back down, but you stay here for a while.' Jess says and Rory looks up from her book and smiles at him. 'I'll be down in awhile.' Rory says and Jess leaves to go down to relieve Cesar for his break.

Much later when Rory sits down at the counter, Jess pours her some coffee. 'Thanks.' He smiles and she sips and her eyes close in bliss. 'I love you.' She says dreamily and Jess smirks. 'I am glad you love me for my talents.' Jess leans down and is about to kiss Rory when the door bursts open and there is Zach and Brian, with a trailing Trey and Matt.

'Hey Buddy.' Zach exclaims and Jess almost looks like he is afraid. Zach was Lane's husband and they had become friends when it was apparent that there significant others were best friends. 'hey guys' Jess says but not taking his eyes off of Rory who was grinning at him and fluttering her eyelashses at him.

'It's time to go my friend.' Matt says and drags Jess away who only manages to kiss Rory as he is being pushed out the door. Cesar catches the apron that Jess throws at him and Jess manages to say 'Love you.' To rory before being pulled down the street.

Rory sighs and and gathers her things nad smiles. She couldn't wait for tonight after all.

TBC


	9. Super Trouper

Super Trouper

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie I mentioned, although it is a classic. Nor do I own the videogame I mention, if I did, I could destroy it and get my boyfriend to stop playing it so we could get to family dinners on time. I don't own anything in here.. So no harm no sue.

Author's Note: Ok.. I know I've been atrociously horrible with updating lately. I apologize. I had no vision, no concept how to get through the next few songs, and I had school.. And more excuses. Plus Gilmore Girls is over, and I was conflicted whether I should continue.. When the show was over.. And I am still bitter about that. But I am just because I see it not finished and it bugs me, since I know I can do this. Hope you guys like this part.. I am hoping to get out the new part soon. I know I say that a lot but I have a week off, let's see what I can do!

Currently there was much turmoil going on behind the scenes in Stars Hallow, that the little town could rival any of the fake towns that were featured in soap operas. Currently one of the most prominent members was suffering under the very real possibility that she was facing the fathers of her daughter. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her, at this time. She already had the Inn to worry about and whatever trouble the residents of the town were incurring and on top of that, she had to make sure that her dad was staying afloat.

Richard Gilmore had taken the death of his wife really hard, and Lorelai tried to stay separate from him and at the same time, make sure that he didn't lose touch, and that even though he had been there and he was part of the reason she ran away, she didn't want him to feel alone.

Also she couldn't believe that her daughter, her best friend, who had barely been away from her other than school, college, and that disastrous two weeks when she had sent Rory to camp. She was losing her daughter in a way and even if she was probably going to live in Stars Hallow, her baby was still flying the coop definitely. She was going to work for a newspaper, and she would be happy and blissful and fulfilled. Every mother's dream right?

Since she was sixteen she had been so fixated on her daughter, and creating a life that she had never been a party to, that she had lost focus somewhat on her own personal life. Lorelai had never truly dated other than random dates and some things to keep her mind busy while her daughter was away at college. But now she had to do something, or she would end up alone. She had relied on fate for too long, and now it was up to her.

She had arranged for the perfect bachelorette party for he daughter, all the while making sure that she had a tap on her daughter's last night of freedom. Not that she wanted to control what was happening, but she could make sure that her daughter didn't find out this night, the night before her wedding, that her father was one of three men. That was one of the main reasons why she never talked about Rory's father. It wasn't that she wanted her daughter to herself; it was that in all seriousness, she didn't know who her father was. She didn't want it to be Christopher, because that would definitely open a can of worms, and she didn't want it to be Luke, it would just bring up things that Lorelai didn't want to visit. And if it was Max, that would be nice. But that's what it would just be. Nice. Max was a friend, there was no romantic feelings, and she would forever be attached to someone that she felt compelled to sleep with. That's the truth about her encounter with Max. She loved him like a friend, he was sweet, and caring and smart, and funny, but that night she had no inclination of anything resembling romance. She had seen how much trouble he had gone to, how hard he had tried to do everything that would make her feel comfortable and liked, and really she had already given her heart to Luke, and she had given her body (whether she was aware of it at the time was the question) to Christopher, why not do it now?

So she had done It and slept with Max and afterwards she didn't feel awkward, just slightly guilty that maybe she had led him on. What was she kidding, she did lead him on and then days later she left, and she tried to act like everything was normal. But if Lorelai was truthful, things hadn't been normal since she discovered that Luke was gone, without any sort of goodbye, and the promises they had made, were proved to be false and that was never going to change.

So tonight, she was going to give her daughter one last hurrah (and at the same time, maybe give herself one too) and she would let her go, and then it was up to her to start living her life the way she wanted, without worrying how it would affect her child? She could date whom she wanted, and that meant she had to start opening up her heart to the possibility.

Rory came to the house and Lorelai had smiled at her daughter who looked so nervous. 'Rory, don't worry. Nothing is going to happen that will end up on Cops.' Rory stuck her tongue out and they al got ready. Rory watched her mother as she put on her eyeliner and made sure that the boa around her neck was on to her liking and made her curly black hair just as she wanted it. Rory remembered when she used to stand in the doorway and watch her mother get ready for work, and be absolutely fascinated.

'You ready to go hon?' Lorelai asked her daughter, which shook her thoughts from her and Rory nodded and followed her downstairs, and Rory soon was on her way to the bachelorette extravaganza. They were headed to watch a movie first, with all the classic Gilmore girls food to sustain them until later, when they would go to the club.

The movie was fun, and Kirk had managed to find 'Girls Want to Have fun' for that night especially, and everyone loved the movie, found it fitting. Since the Gilmore's were always trying to have fun. By the time the movie was over and Kirk was done with his three level of Dance Dance Revolution was done; it was already ten o clock. They had ventured to a club in Hartford that Rory had gone to before with Lane during her first year of college.

Meanwhile Luke had felt compelled to join Christopher and Max, who he had met when he had checked into the Dragonfly at the same time days before. He had talked to Max during breakfast one morning, and he got the impression that Max was friends with Lorelai for years. Max seemed like a good guy, and Luke didn't mind at all spending time with him while Christopher is another story.

At first he didn't think he knew him, but as more time he spent, the more convinced that he in fact knew who Christopher Hayden was. He remembered those years before, the summer of when he met Lorelai; there was a guy who was always in the background. Lorelai had said it was this guy who was in the same program that she was in, and he had asked her out a couple of times, but she just ignored him. He was almost completely sure that the boy who had made Lorelai slightly ambivalent was the same normal guy that he sat beside right now on his way to the club.

Max had said that this club in Hartford was the place to visit if you were in the area. Max had lived in New York his entire life, Luke figured he would know whether a place was a good place to go or not. They all got in and went straight to the bar to get a drink, and Luke caught a glimpse of Rory. Lorelai's Rory, the daughter that Lorelai had, which meant that at some point she had found someone who she felt more about than him, and they had a child together. Luke didn't know why it bothered him like it did. It's not like he was virginal. He had been engaged, he was a professional athlete for some time, of course he had slept with women, and been in relationships with women, but when it came to the making the decision whether to sink or swim, it always came down that he just didn't love any of them like he loved Lorelai.

Max was looking around when he got a glimpse of Lorelai and he smiled. She saw him and waved and then went back to dancing with Sookie and Max decided not to tell the other guys that she was here. Max had seen Lorelai's face a few days ago looking at Luke, and without much deduction, Max had guessed that this Luke was the one who broke her heart when he had met her. Max had been the sounding board for days with her asking him over and over again, did she do something that made him leave, even though he wasn't there to know.

While Rory was dancing with Lane, she caught glimpse of the three bachelor dads all standing at the bar. She looked over at her mother and she knew that currently Lorelai had no idea that the three of them were in the same club. Lorelai had become twitchy, paranoid and stressed beyond belief at their presence in the town, and in the Inn. Lorelai would never ask for Rory's help and tried to relieve her of her shifts, until Rory had told her mother that she depended on those shifts for the money and she needed it if she was planning on getting a place with Jess after the wedding.

Rory's intent gaze was noticed by Lane and Paris who all looked at each other and ventured in distracting the others so Rory could talk to them alone. Rory was tired of guessing, of hoping that time would somehow indicate on which one was the one. The ultimate dad candidate becoming the ultimate dad. She needed to know if they knew anything, if they had some weird birthmark or trait that she had inherited that you couldn't tell by a photo. She already knew which one had a similar but really rather common trait for a photo, and she was tired of living in the dark.

Paris went after Christopher, after realizing he would be the tricky one. The most clueless one since he had been the one that wasn't more than infatuation on his part, and heartbreak on Lorelai's part. Paris hadn't taken psychology classes for nothing you know. If she was going to be a world renowned doctor she had to be observant of all things, and she could tell from the first second she looked at that photo, that Christopher was one hundred percent into Lorelai, whereas Lorelai just stood there looking pretty, hoping her world wasn't ending. Paris knew all this from the simple look of heartbreak that was in Lorelai's eyes in that one snapshot.

Lane took on Max, who she had a conversation with earlier on when she was checking on the father's. She couldn't let her best friend just open her heart to strangers, she had to make sure that they were who they said they were. And that was difficult since they hadn't said anything to Rory really, but still she had to make sure. Max she had learned had awesome knowledge in music and had even seen her band play when they had a gig in New York. Rory would first go talk to Luke, who was the most likely candidate, and Rory was honest with herself, if she had a choice, she would have to make Luke the father. He was the love of her mother's life, what better way to think of your being conceived, than by both parents loving each other completely, even if that was slightly creepy, it still felt a little like a fairy tale, and that's all she had wanted as a kid.

So the three friends went off on their missions, all the while the adults having no idea that this was a night that would change a lot of things.

TBC


	10. Gimme Gimme Gimme

Gimme Gimme Gimme

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: so… I think that I am making Chris more evil than I should, but I just don't like him. In the play that this story is based off of, I love Chris's supposed character. He is sweet and wonderful and any girl would be lucky to be connected to, but to keep some aspects of Gilmore Girl universe, I had to change that. Hope you guys like this.. And because it's my reading week, that's why there is two parts updated in two days. Yay me!

Rory saw Luke at the bar and she approached after making sure that lane and Paris were distracting the other two far way from sight and that Lorelai was in the back dancing with Sookie and Rachel, who seemed to be inadvertently helping her without realizing what she was up to. Luke looked over at her and he did the classic comedic double take and she almost smiled, but she figured that would freak Luke out.

'Hi.' Rory said while sipping her frilly drink that Rachel had ordered for her earlier. Luke looked around and then smiled at her. 'Hey.' They were both silent for a second and Luke looked around. 'So some party, any reason for the celebration?' and Rory shrugged. 'It's my bachelorette party. It's my mom's last fete for me before I marry Jess.' Luke looked shocked. How old was this girl? 18, 19? 'Wow, your getting married young.' The minute Luke said it, he realized how rude that sounded and looked contrite, but Rory just laughed.

'No, I'm 23, Mom had me after a summer of love apparently.' She looked at his face, hoping to see something. Meanwhile Luke was trying not to look like his world was falling around him. That couldn't be true right? She couldn't be messing with him. If so, it would be cruel, and something he could never prepare for.

Luke instead gives Rory a look. 'So Luke, you've ever been married, have any kids?' Rory asked all the while hoping she had a half sister or brother. Something to make a transition easier. You could focus on them rather than this newly discovered dad. Luke smiled. 'Yeah, I have a daughter. April. She's 13, and … ' Luke just shrugged and Rory smiled too. He brought out his wallet and showed Rory a picture, and Rory tried not to gasp. April looked so much like her, but she didn't want to say anything in case it was just a coincidence. Wasn't black hair and deep blue eyes common?

'Wow, she's beautiful.' Rory said and Luke nodded. 'Yes she is, so tell me about this boy your marrying.' Luke said all the while trying not to notice how Rory looked so familiar to him, and he couldn't figure out why. It was like he had seen her every day of his life, and that only know did he notice what she looked like. He attributed it to the fact that she looked so much like Lorelai.

'Jess sis amazing, he has this diner in town, and he has made the town liven up even more, and he…he's my world.' Rory says and for the first time a relaxed smile comes to her lips and Luke realizes something. His daughter's lips quirk in the same way and something in his mind goes off. Hadn't Rory said that he was born after a summer in New York? Luke began to look at Rory even more carefully and that something that had been hiding in the back of his mind. She did look like Lorelai that's for sure, but at the same time there was something familiar about her that wasn't about Lorelai. It was like he knew her for much longer than the few glimpses.

'I haven't met your father yet have I?' Luke asked and Rory shrugged. 'I doubt it, since I don't know how my father is.' Luke of course felt completely struck by this and before he could say anything Rory was pulled away and he was left with the thought that maybe there was more to the story than he originally thought.

Rory saw Christopher standing outside on the patio of the club. He smiled at her and she stood and looked out. 'So your Lorelai's daughter huh? I guess looks run in the family." Rory tried not to look disgusted and she smiled. 'I guess, so have you ever been married?' Rory asks casually and Chris chuckles. 'Oh yeah, more than once. It never stuck.' Rory just nodded. 'You know, your mother and I were really close at a time.' Chris says and Rory tries not to be slightly creeped out.

'The first time I saw her; I just knew that we were meant to be more than friends. But we never got the chance really. Some wild nights, one especially wild night at the Waldorf, but other than that, it was nothing to write home about. But if I had more time, I gotta tell ya, it would have been something.' Rory nodded all the while trying to figure out how this is supposed to somehow solve the big mystery of who her father was.

'Oh?' She said all the while praying he wouldn't go into details. Was this what this man was about? Talking about hr mother like that made her feel uncomfortable, but any information he had, was key. 'Oh yeah. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Smart too. Funny and sharp, and everything I thought I deserved, but by the time I got there, she was hung up on some guy. I guess it's the luck of the draw.'

Rory nodded but Christopher didn't even really notice her. 'You know Sherry said I was too hung up on a girl from the past. But once you meet the one, how can you just let it go. But I came on too strong.'

Christopher shrugged and looked at Rory. 'So have I met your father yet, I would really like to shake the hand of the guy who finally caught Lorelai Gilmore.' Rory tried not to look kind of disgusted and she was about to leave, but she felt that she should say something other than oh. 'If you meet him, do me a favor and introduce me,' Rory left without another word in a huff, and decided to get something strong to get the stench of gross off of her.

It took her more than an hour of dancing to finally get up the courage to approach Max who was still engaged in a battle with Lane about the recent battle of the bands that Lane had organized. 'Your crazy, they were no talent hacks.' Lane shouted and Max just shook his head. 'You can be so cynical.' Max said with a smile. 'Well I'm going to go and see what Lorelai is up to.' Lane says and hightails it out of there, but she winks at Rory before she goes off.

'So how's the bachelorette party going?' Max asks and Rory shrugs. 'Its good, but I'm not a dancing person.' Max smiles. 'Not something you got from your mom huh? Rory chuckled. 'Definitely not. So what was my mom like when you knew her?' Rory asked.

She had known her mother now, and of course her childhood memories, but she always wondered was her mother always like the free spirit, or was that the symptom of her freedom from her parents.

'When I met your mother.. She was free and excitable but I met her after a tough summer. She had down moments, but she really loved New York. We just had fun. Your mom, so full of life and really quick wit. We had fun. You're lucky.' Rory smiled and looked over at her mom who was dancing up a storm with Sookie and Paris. 'I always wanted to know what she was like before she had me. When he wasn't bogged down by a kid and responsibility and being a career woman.' Max looked at Rory in speculation. 'I am sure that she would never look at life like that. The Lorelai I knew, and I may have not known her a long time, she was not one to look at anything as a burden, and I've seen the way she looks like you. I only wish my parents looked at me, maybe I would have turned out different.' Max shrugged and looked around while Rory looked transfixed.

Max may or may not be her dad, but at that moment she wished he was. Luke may have the deep connection to her mother, but really did he care if he had any other kids? He may not even care about her, not really. She was just Lorelai's daughter. But max, she could tell that he would be into being her dad. He would … want to walk her down the aisle.

'So Max, have you been married?' Max smiled. 'Yeah once, to a great girl, but she died.' Max smiled sadly at her, and then she looked at him sadly. 'I'm sorry.' He took a sip form his beer. 'It happened a long time ago, we knew it was going to happen, but that doesn't make it better. Reminds me of your mom sometimes, that zest for life.' Rory felt sad. 'So, have I met your dad in town?' Max asks and Rory is still on Max's tragedy that she doesn't really come up with a lie. 'I doubt it, I don't know who he is.' Max looks shocked.

'I guess my mom's summer in New York was really good.' Rory says and Max looks at her shocked and she shrugs. She doesn't want anything from Max at the moment. Because she looks over and her mom and Luke are talking.

Across the club Lorelai twirls around and she sees something form the corner of her eye that makes her stop. Luke is leaning against the bar and he is smiling at her, and she thinks of the first time she saw him. He was virtually standing the same way and it makes her heart pound. She starts to walk towards him and all she remembers the most intimate moments and the most casual. Right before she reaches him she remembers what his voice sounded like when he would whisper that he loved her. It brought tears to her eyes, and she blinked them away.

Luke was grinning at her and she stopped and moved so she was standing beside her, and the particular spot was full of people and she had to touch hi a little and that brought her into this super over sensitive trance like feeling. 'Hey' She says and Luke smiles at her and his eyes are so warm and she just chuckles. 'Hey yourself, so I talked to Rory.' Luke says. 'Oh? Lorelai replies and he nods. 'Yes, she says and tries not to hide even the slightest amount of panic. She had seen Rory talking to Max too, but by the smiles she knew it wasn't anything serious.

'Yeah, she seems like a great kid. Inquisitive but really amazing. She seems to really love.. Jess?' Lorelai nods. 'Yup that's my Rory, Investigative reporter extradonaire.' She looks over where Rory was, and she wasn't there anymore, and she just hopes that her daughter is having a good time wherever she is. 'So I haven't met her father is he. Uh..' Luke doesn't even have a chance to finish before Lorelai had a sour look on her face. 'That's none of your business Luke.' She looks at him and she is once again reminded about the past and she sighs. 'Why did you not show up Luke? Are you really that unfeeling.'

Luke of course looks shocked. 'What?' Lorelai huffs a little. 'You never even said goodbye, you said you would stay in touch, that we would be at least something, but you left with no warning, and there were things I needed to tell you. And you sit here and act like everything is fine. You have some nerve Lucas Danes.'

Before Luke could even begin to respond Lorelai stomped off and left Luke in a daze. Luke was completely confused. She was the one who didn't call him. He had to leave yes early, but he left messages at her dorm, and he had given all his numbers. What was he supposed to do? Women.

TBC


	11. Name of the Game

Name of the Game

Disclaimer: I don't own anything mentioned or even not mentioned.

AN: I hope that this chapter is up to snuff. I struggled to get it right, but I fear this isn't exactly right. I've been getting a lot of 'Luke and Lorelai' conversation requests, so battle down the hatches folks, here comes storm javajunkie. And wow that was cheesy.. I apologize.

Soon the bacheloerette was over and all the girls departed going their own separate ways. Lorelai and Rory walked home to the crap shack together in silence. Lorelai thinking about her conversation with Luke, and Rory trying to figure out what had happened tonight. She hadn't gotten any closer to finding out her father other than figuring out that Christopher was slightly creepy, Luke was still in love with her mother and Max was a cool guy. Lorelai immediately went upstairs and tried to go to sleep. She had to get up early and deal with the wedding stuff.

Rory on the other hand sat on the couch in the living room and tried to muster up any desire to go to bed. She was getting married tomorrow, and yet she knew nothing about half of her self. She had watched those talk shows where women get DNA tests for all the men in her life wondering if any of them is the father of her child. Rory always found those really ridiculous, and yet right now it occurred to her that it was so perfect for her life.

She could really bring three men and ask them on national TV whether they are her fathers. One of them is, and a simple test in front of millions of people plus a studio. She had always felt like she had all of this love and support from her mom, but it felt unequal. Lorelai tried to make up for the fact that no, Rory had grown up with no father figure, and that no matter how hard she tried, that wouldn't change. Rory decided that maybe a walk around town would solve her feeling so restlessness. The only other thing that would make her feel less anxious was seeing Jess. But they had agreed to do the traditional not seeing each other before the wedding, until the moment they actually get married.

So she was alone in this, once Rory got to the bridge she sat down and looked at the stars twinkling that reflected in the smooth surface in the lake. There was a slight wind and Rory relished in the fact that she lived in Stars Hallow. It really was such a beautiful spot, and she was grateful that she could still live here after she was married. That she found a job at a paper near by.

Suddenly she heard a crack and she turned around and there was one of the Dad candidates. Luke looked unsure and almost trapped when she glanced at him. 'Hi.' Rory said simply and Luke shuffled closer. 'You're out late.' Luke says and Rory is kinda shocked that this man she barely knows makes a comment like this. 'I can't sleep, wedding jitters and all.' Rory says and she gets up and leans against the railings of the bridge.

'That's to be expected. Everyone has them, but tomorrow you'll know that this is what you want.' Luke says and Rory smiles at him. 'I just don't want to get married not knowing who I am.' Rory said and Luke stands next to Rory. 'You don't know who you are?' Luke asks. Rory shrugs. 'It's complicated, but to a Gilmore it's nothing new.'

Luke looked at Rory who was looking up at the stars. 'So why don't you tell me why its so complicated? There was silence between the two until Luke coughed. 'You know a long time ago, your mother felt that she could confide in me.' Rory sighed. 'It's just… I don't know who my father is, and I'm getting married, and it seems just wrong to do that without him there.' Luke is silent. There it was, her suspicions were right. 'And your mother never told you who he was?' Luke asked this time his voice was a little more sharp.

Rory laughed. 'My mother, never needs anyone. I love her but when I asked who my daddy was, she would always just give me this look, and I learnt not to ask. All I know is that she had one hell of a summer and then there was me. She ran away to here, and everything was fine.' Rory let out a sardonic laugh. 'So after the summer.' Luke says and Rory looks at him and the man she had been talking to have changed into the one she had talked to in the club. HE wasn't concerned with her, just her mother. With the mystery of their past.

'Yeah well thanks for this.' Rory said and she started to walk off. 'Look Rory, I don't have the answers your looking for, but if you need someone to walk you down that aisle, I'll be more than honored to do so.' Rory looked back at Luke. 'Thanks.' And within earshot Luke also says 'And if it helps any, I don't think that knowing your father will change the fact who you are.' Rory smiles and thanks Luke and walks away.

Rory thought that maybe she should go home and try to go to sleep. Tomorrow was full of wedding stuff, and she wanted to look amazing for her day. She took the long way and her pocket chirped and she got a text message from Jess. '_I can't wait to see you tomorrow. _She smiled and continued to walk in the dark. The town was quiet and peaceful and a little bit cool, a perfect summers night.

She looked over at the gazebo and there was Christopher Hayden who was staring at the stars. An almost identical stance that had been standing in not so long ago. Should she go over and talk to him as well. She huffed and decided that she would regret if she didn't take every chance at figuring this out. She walked towards him and he nodded in greeting.

'Hi Christopher.' Rory says and he waves. 'Hey Rory, you nervous?' Rory shrugged. 'Maybe a little bit but I am not tempted to be the next runaway bride.' Chris laughed and Rory smiled. 'So I want to apologize about before.' Chris says and Rory nods. Of course he wants to apologize he sounded a little bit too stalkerish for Rory's preference. 'I had a little too much and I let the past get to me. That's something you don't want to hear about an old flame of your mothers.' Rory is silent but she smiles at him. 'I also want to apologize if I went over the line, I am not really.. Like that.' Christopher says and Rory agrees that no one would want to become like that.

'You know Rory, I got to say that when I got that invitation in the mail, I thought 'here's my chance to show her.' But I get the point. She isn't interested, and I need to move on. But I've never seen any mother look at her kid with more pride. Maybe I should go visit my daughter.' Rory looked at Christopher and the two stood there in silence

She didn't know what to think about Christopher, one minute he is creepy and she gets the feeling that it would be even worse if he ended up being the real deal father. He wouldn't be like Luke, who was in love with her mother, and couldn't see past that, he would the one that was infatuated with her mother and then he would disappear, and she would go from absent father who she doesn't know, to father she knows but chooses not to be near her or talk to her. And frankly she didn't think that Christopher was the type to stick around. It made her sad but glad that she really didn't see any of her traits in him.

'You have a daughter?' Rory asked surprised after she came out of her funk. 'Yeah, Georgia. With the last ex wife. She's five and I don't see her too often, but I am thinking that I should change that.' Rory nodded. 'Lucky girl, I am sure she will love that you are around more. What daughter wouldn't?' She says listlessly and Christopher looked over at her for the first time.

HE didn't really know what to think of this girl. She was definitely the child of Lorelai, and he felt that maybe in some disjointed alternative universe she could have been his, had things come about differently. 'You know, if you need someone to walk you down the aisle, I'll be there.' Rory smiled at him and she figured that this was what you did when you found out your summer fling had a child. 'Thank you.' Rory said a quick goodnight and continued on her trek to her house.

Back at the house, after many attempts at falling asleep and failing Lorelai was sitting on the porch swing and she knows her daughter is probably walking off her jitters. She wished she had some sort of sage advice for her. But what did she know about forever? Her last chance at forever disappeared with a boy she had fallen in love with 24 years ago. Lorelai is so lost in hr thoughts she doesn't feel the bench dip with added weight. Max Medina is sitting beside her and she smiles. 'Hey Max.' Max smiles at Lorelai. As ever, Lorelai is blasting the bangles and sitting with a cup of coffee and it was almost like he had been with her all this time.

'So I bet you are nervous about tomorrow.' Max says and Lorelai chuckles dryly. 'My baby is getting married tomorrow, of course I am anxious about tomorrow.' Lorelai takes a sip of her coffee. 'Well if it makes you feel any better, your daughter is amazing.' Lorelai beamed at the compliment. She always loved that part, in teacher interviews, pageants, moments when she was with someone who noticed that her child was exceptional. That she may not have been as much of a screw up as her mother had told her repeatedly.

'I know, she is really the best thing I've ever done.' Lorelai says and she almost feels giddy on how awesome her kid was. She knew that really they couldn't get better. Rory was smart and kind and funny and engaging. 'I talked to her in the club tonight, she asked me about when I met you.' Lorelai looks a little alarmed by Max smiles at her warmly. 'She seems to be intrigued on what you were like before you had her. ' There is silence between the two of them. There are so many questions that Max has. He knew that they weren't a love match, that he was just someone for her to lean on, and that when she left, that would be it. But at the same time, did she feel anything but resolve that he went to the trouble might as well?

HE even wondered if Rory was his daughter. He had done the math, and he had actually taken the time to listen to both of them, so he knew that it was a possibility, but at the same time, Max understood that knowing meant some sort of heartache for the two girls, and he kept his mouth shut for that purpose.

Lorelai almost wishes that he would say something. That he would initiate it and ask her. She wanted Max to know that it's a possibility first. 'Well I haven't been the best in telling her what I was like before her. I focused everything on going forward, not going back.'

Max smiles and they sit like that for a while until they hear crunching of someone walking up the driveway. Rory appears out of the darkness like a mirage, and she waves to Max while Lorelai stands up. 'I really need to go to sleep; I have to get up early to start the setting up of the inn. Goodnight max.' Lorelai smiles and whisks inside and there is Rory standing in front of Max.

Rory feels the most comfortable around Max, as he s the least intimidating. Max is about to leave as Rory goes up the steps. 'I bet you already have someone lined up, but if need anyone to walk you up the aisle, I would be more than honored.' Rory thanks Max and she goes inside and closes it firmly behind her.

Both Gilmore girls went to bed with their loves on their mind. Rory thought of Jess, and just how lucky she was to have found him. And Lorelai slept fitfully filled with dreams full of Luke's face as she tried to get him to explain why he still had a hold on her.

TBC


	12. Voulez Vous

Voulez vous (I Want You)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

AN: this is merely filler until later on. I hope you guys like this.

Lorelai slept fitfully that night. She kept dreaming of Luke, as he was when she knew him and what he was now. She kept seeing him walking away from her over and over, and her knowing that she was pregnant. Lorelai woke up after a horrible nightmare of Luke and a faceless woman taking Rory from her. She had been plagued by dreams since she saw him that made her feel like she had been striped so bare that there was nothing left of her.

For almost twenty-four years she had had the peace of mind to wonder and maybe chase a little bit, but never did she have to truly wonder 'what if' like she was facing now. She also didn't think that she would have to reveal (if she was able to) who her child's father was. There were times when she knew who it was. It had to be Luke. It was when her heart was open, and free just to be in the moment. Every touch, every moment. But then Lorelai fair knowledge of science changed her theories. It could just as well be Chris or Max. There was nothing more in the world that Lorelai wanted more than for Luke to be Rory's father.

Soon she gave up her attempts at sleeping and decided to go downstairs and get all the details together. Maybe that way she could sleep in a bit. Lorelai got a bottle of water from the fridge and snuck a look in Rory's room where her daughter lay silent. Lorelai silently went to sit outside and go over all the things that she had to do for tomorrow. She should be asleep, and a million other things that contemplating her past.

When Rory was still a baby, Lorelai would hold her in her arms, and look down at her and wonder if they had any inkling of what existed without their knowledge. Could they somehow hear her heartbeat, or feel when she was upset or happy. Or was it just her that felt the quickening of her emotions whenever Rory was about to cry.

After planning and re-planning how her day would go before the wedding, Lorelai decided that a midnight stroll would be a good idea. Putting on a light jacket in case it was chilly at this time of night, she set off to parts unknown, or more like circling town in a way that only took about half an hour. Stars Hallow wasn't that big, and it didn't take too much effort to go to all the places in town. The air was crisp and she could feel fall coming, and that meant Christmas and thanksgiving and Halloween and other holidays that meant her daughter wasn't there. It would be her first holiday alone since she got pregnant.

The gazebo glittered in the moonlight and the light danced off its peak and she had to admit that getting married in the gazebo was ingenious. It was the center of town, everyone's idea of the central point, and wasn't that Rory? Jess went along with whatever plans they made, and Lorelai thought that it was because he was just happy that he found someone like Rory.

Lorelai sat down and just sat there in silence. Remembering moments with Luke in New York came to her easily enough. She could almost recall it like it had happened just yesterday. She could tell you exactly what the air smelt like, what cologne Luke had on, and things that she would have never remembered, but it was like she knew.

She thought back to their first meeting.

_Lorelai was running across the street trying to get one side of Times Square to the next. Lorelai had to admit that this was the only time she had agreed with her parents that going to New York was an experience she couldn't miss. Her parents were half across the world visiting India on a cruise and she had 8 blissful weeks alone. Well not alone, she was chaperoned for most of the time, but she still had small frames of time where it was just she. Lorelai looked at her watch, she was almost twenty minutes late at her job placement. _

_She had to be at the museum as quickly as she could and her running in heels wasn't working out so well. She could almost see the Met in sight when she crashed into someone. Causing her purse to fly out of her hand and her landing harshly on her back. She shook her head to relieve some of the stars that was left from her collision. She looked up at her unlucky victim and there was a boy gathering up the things in her purse. 'I am so sorry.' She says and goes to help and he smiles at her. 'No problem. I wasn't looking where I was going' Lorelai says and that's when she looks up. The boy looked up at the same time, and blue meets blue. _

_The two scrambles to stand up and Lorelai can't help but admire how cute this boy is. She had been to almost all female boarding schools for the last four years of her life, and on this trip, she begins to realize how much she missed. 'Hi.' The boy says awkwardly and Lorelai realizes they are in the middle of the street. Luke took her hand and led her to the side alley. Normally someone she just met, she wouldn't even let her touch her, but there was something about the way these boys' eyes met her that seemed to mean something. _

_He stepped closer and Lorelai didn't back up but smiled at him, they were silent at this point, and clearly she needed to say something. She didn't want this moment to pass her by. 'I'm Lorelai.' She says and the boy smiles. 'Luke. Nice to meet you.' They stand there for almost an hour before realizing how much time they spent together talking, and Lorelai leaves with a date and plans for the next two weeks of her summer. _

_She never made it to her placement and said she got lost and turned around badly, but not feeling too bad about it. Their first date consisted of walking around the streets of New York and just talking. There was such a strong connection that it didn't matter how much they said, it was just there naturally. Time flew by so fast that already a month had gone by. _

'_I am leaving soon.' Luke says over dinner one nig ht. They had found a cheap Italian restaurant that Luke could afford. His scholarship covered room and board but not much else. 'I'll come visit you in Colorado.' Lorelai says and Luke smiles. There time was mostly spent with 'maybes, and this was the first time it was a definite. 'I was going to tell you, but I applied to NYU, and we could see each other.' Luke said and Lorelai smiled. _

'_I could take the train and come visit you. I'll be in senior year, my parents will never know.' Lorelai had described in detail the relationship between her parents and herself. 'Emily would appreciate my spending time in New York.' Luke just smiled and they let the conversation lead them to happier thoughts than the fact that they only had a few moments together. _

_Lorelai had arrived at Luke's dorm early so she could have as much time with him as possible. She had made sure she looked her best, and after their last night, she wanted him to know that just because they had finally slept together, it didn't really change anything. She still would make sure she looked her best. _

_She called his room first and there was no answer, and she just figured that he was in the shower. She knocked on his door and there was no answer. She went down and she didn't see any of the other guys on Luke's team stuff around. Finally she called the den mother of the building and a random faceless woman on the phone had told her that they had left already early in the morning, and no there was no message. _

_Luke was gone, with no information given, she didn't know where he lived really, and suddenly she was alone. She walked back to her hotel slowly and her heart breaking with each step she took. _

Lorelai shook her head as to make the bad memories go away. There was a million things that she needed to do and all she could think about was a stupid memory of 24 years ago. It was over and she needed to accept that. Lorelai left the gazebo and walked home making sure that the ghosts of the past were what she left behind. Luke was nothing more than a summer fling, and no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that he felt the same, it was clear that it was merely all in her head.

TBC


	13. Under Attack

Under Attack

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my computer and that's not definite.

Author's Note: ok I get it, you want luke and Lorelai interaction and I promise you there will be an abundance, I needed to stay along the lines of the song and storyline, but we are over the hump (dirty!) and i promise you that there will be some soon. Now that evil Trent is over I can focus on writing more. Thanks for reading!

**Rory had slept fitfully the entire night. Her dreams were plagued with visions of hands grabbing her and expecting things of her. There were hundreds of faces around her and she couldn't identify any of them, but she knew that they were Luke, Christopher and Max. Each face meant something to her and yet she didn't really know. It was like she was being grabbed endlessly and little by little it started to bug her more. Almost like water torture. It was a miserable experience when you were so intent on sleeping, fully realizing that you need to be well rested for the next day and trying so hard, and yet failing miserably at it. Like fate was preventing you from the very thing you want. **

**It was three in the morning when Rory started to toss and turn. Before her dreams were pleasant glimpses of the future. She knew that everything with Jess would be fine. Jess was never anything but stress free, what was worrying her was her actual wedding. For some brides it's the simple things like whether it will go off without a hitch, will the caterers remember how many people are eating fish and how many are eating the chicken, or the flowers, or the music, or any other minuet detail, but for Rory it was not even occurring to her. Her mother was a pro at weddings, and she knew that everything would be fine. What she was worrying about was the actual walking down the aisle. **

**When Jess actually proposed she had visions of her in a beautiful white dress, her walking slowly to Jess and then a quick glimpse of the possibilities of their future together, never did she actually think of who would walk her down the aisle until they had gotten pretty far in the planning stages of her wedding. Jess just assumed that it was a detail that would work itself out and it didn't seem to be an ultimate life decision like it did for Rory. But it was.. Never in her entire life did she feel more like the kid with no father than she did when she was thinking about walking down that aisle alone. **

**That's what probably made her actually send those invitations. What made her search for that picture, and what made her actively search for the addresses. She knew that her mother would kill her if she was the one who instigated and sent for three men to come to her town, to her inn and her daughters wedding.. She just pictured that instantly she would know. Three men would look at her and one of them would just know that she was the ultimate connection to Lorelai. Instead they more looked at her like a novelty of a woman they loved a long time ago. She wanted nothing more for some dramatic reveal that surprise he knew all this time and he was biding his time to make the ultimate wedding present. Instead she was in the same position that she was in the beginning, fatherless and questioning whether getting married was right. Not because she was not convinced that she loved Jess and it was the forever kind, but if she was capable of being totally invested because she had never seen an example of that. **

**She was surrounded by unmarried people, her grandparents were really the only ones she knew of, and she wasn't really around them a lot and she always got the distinct impression that they stayed together for so long because there was no other option. She knew that her grandparents loved each other, but did they have the kind she had with Jess?**

**Her dreams never changed and they moved along in a disturbing way, they were plagued with visions of three faceless men trying to grab her, wanting things from her that she didn't understand. She couldn't say anything and they just mumbled things she couldn't understand. She saw her mother looking panicked in the background and she couldn't get to her. She saw visions of what each father would have been like. Luke would be the typical supportive father. He would encourage every single journey and would want to give her all that he could, and he was the ultimate dad. Max would be more laid back, full of academic encouragement and musical encouragement of course. Christopher would be the more flakey kind. He would be there but in the background, and she got the impression that her life would be spent waiting for him to take the endeavor to being her father. If she was totally honest with herself she had always pictured her father to have the attributes that she pictured Luke to have. **

**Rory slept so fitfully that she was soaked in sweat. And her breathing was hitching with panic and was so deep in her dream that she was unable to escape. The varied images of what tomorrow could be was haunting her. She faintly heard her mother come into the house and leave again, but she needed to rest. To looked refreshed and like she was meant to do this. She knew she was, but she wanted others to know that this was her step to leave her past as the daughter of the ever-enigmatic Lorelai Gilmore. It was hard sometimes to be that role all the time. She loved her mom, but she sometimes wished that her life wasn't so filled with them vs. ours. **

**Rory had dated someone during her last two years of high school and freshmen year of college and she always thought that that relationship was how it was supposed to go. Dean was everything that she figured she wanted, funny, kind, warm and smart. He may not have understood her, but really was that even possible? She was a Gilmore girl. Her mother loved Dean, maybe not at first and had some letting go issues, but Lorelai had never been overbearing and never intrusive. She had let Rory figure things out before prying her for details and trusted her. Lorelai was definitely the cool mom in that scenario. **

**Dean had started to expect things from Rory that she just wasn't willing to even consider. Dean wanted to get married right after freshmen year and drop out, and he kept hinting that it was something he would be asking soon. Rory didn't even want to think of marriage, until she met Jess. Dean however wanted her to stay home with the kids, and be all that his mom was, and that was so far from Rory's vision of her life. She was at Yale after all, wasn't the point of college, Yale even, that you get the education for the career, and the knowledge to sustain a successful and happy life? She had faced a difficult decision in those final hours of her relationship. Dean had been with her for three years, he had been her first boyfriend, kiss, lover, he was what she thought to be the one, and in letting that go, proved painful. Her mother looked at her in a different light after that. Not in a bad or terribly different way, maybe one that said I understand. At that point she had decided that she wanted to know why her mother in rare moments, looked haunted and worn out. **

**She had spent the rest of her next two years concentrating on school and her little town. Rory had spent many an hour helping her mother in the inn, and working at the paper, or doing something other than heading back there, and worrying about whether she could pour her whole heart into something when her entire heart was no available. Her entire life something was missing, and that's what started all of this. She figured the hole would be filled by a father, and this was her best chance at figuring out who was it. **

**Little snippets of her brief encounters with the three men were running around in her head as she slept, all pooling together. Little snippets of Information she got about their past with her mother. She had figured out that Luke was a relationship. Deep and meaningful and it had ended in a way that wasn't clear, but she got the impression that neither one knew why, Christopher seemed to be a flash in the pan. A mistake that seemed to haunt her mother and she got the impression that maybe it bugged him as well. **

**And Max, that was certainly interesting. He seemed like the cool uncle, the friend of your parent that you want to talk about things with and not worry about them thinking all the while thinking that you are an idiot. She never got the impression that he could have ever been a real love interest for her mother. There was something about him that just made her think he had the friend vibe going on. **

**The early morning light was filtering her childhood room with delicate misty light that seemed to creep over her troubled face and a flash of the final gasps of her dream propel her into awakening and she almost cries out. She looks around and realizes that it was just a dream, but that doesn't change the fact that nothing is clearer at the moment. She was getting married today, and nothing was clearer. She still didn't know who her father was, and now she had to deal with three different men all thinking they were walking her down the aisle. But she wasn't panicking… yet….**

**TBC**

**Next up: One of Us**


	14. One Of Us

One of Us

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: Rory is about to get married. She invited three men from her mom's past to her wedding, to see if any of them are her father. Trouble is, none of them know they could be the one.

Author's Note: This was supposed to be much longer, but it just wasn't going to happen. You wanted them to talk, I made them talk. Ha! Accomplishment, here I am!

Lorelai was up with the sun even after so little sleep to make sure all the details of the wedding were taking care of before she had to prepare or the wedding. She had to call the caterers after some little mistake they made last time, to make sure, and then she called the florists to make sure everything was ok. She sat in the sitting room of her Inn, with everything still quiet, and looked around. This would be one of the last moments of her life as Rory's mother, and not know her daughter as a married woman. Something that she never knew, and she just wanted to think back on that. She heard someone come down the stairs and she stood up and decided to look busy. Nothing was more pathetic than someone feeling sad on the same day as a wedding.

Lorelai stood up and was ready to get out of the way of the guest, and she looked to make sure she picked up her cell phone, and she didn't see whom she was bumping into. Luke looked startled at the sight of Lorelai, and of course she thought it was because of that tense moment they had last night. She should have kept her cool, kept it together, and not had her pissy moment and maybe she wouldn't feeling so awkward. 'Hi.' She said while shifting away from him, she looked around for an escape and of course there was none. 'So last night, what happened?' Luke immediately asked, and she remembered one thing about Luke that she remembers, Luke may be not confrontation on a lot of things, but he always seemed to confront her whenever they fought.

'I don't know, but I got to go deal with wedding stuff.' But before Lorelai could move Luke held her wrist, not harshly or violent, but soft and firm. It was the kind of touch that she had wished for night after night, for twenty-three years, and now at this particular time, it just seemed off. 'What is going on?' Luke said a little bit more forced than before. 'I don't know what you think is going on Luke, I am just getting my daughter's wedding perfect.' Luke just stared at her, and Lorelai almost dared him to say it. She knew it was on the tip of her tongue, so it must be on his. 'Your daughter, or ours?' Luke said and that stunned Lorelai. She didn't move, or speak (she doubted she was capable of it) and she just stood there and in her head she was screaming for some action, to laugh or joke or something to dissuade the truth. Really, what could she say anyways? Oh no Luke, she may be your kid, after you disappeared suddenly, I got drunk and had a one night stand with someone else, and then weeks later slept with a guy I was friends with cause I felt why not sleep with him, I already slept with two other guys, why not make it three? No Lorelai could not say that. 'It doesn't matter what you think Luke, I have stuff to do. I would appreciate it if you left me alone.' Lorelai said and moved to leave the room. And then Luke sighed, and it seemed to halt her entire body. 'I don't understand.' He said simply, and she just shrugged at him, as if to convey that she didn't either. 'I really got to get stuff done.' Lorelai walked away and left him alone to his thoughts.

It was ten minutes before she started thinking about how mean she was being. If Luke had treated her just the way she had treated him she would be livid, what right did she have. She turned around and found Luke looking at the pictures that covered the wall of the library. They were snapshots of the town, and of moments that the people who worked with her and for her, wanted to share. There were a lot of pictures of herself and Rory together. The two of them beaming in front of the newly opened Dragonfly Inn. Rory was in a lot of pictures. She was the forefront of Lorelai's life, and there he was witnessing something that she thought he would never see.

'Last time I saw you, you were going to college, you were carefree, and you were….' Luke stumbled for the words to explain what he wanted to say. 'That was 23 years ago Luke, I changed. I'm sure you have. You look… different.' She whispered the last part. He did. Before he was a boy, slightly rounded full of awkwardness and the cockiness that youth provided. Now he was a man, pure and full. Lean and self-assured in a way that he wasn't back then.

'Of course you've changed. It would be ridiculous if you didn't, don't you think?' Luke then sighed and rubbed his face and she was transported back two decades and it seemed like she had just seen him. 'Are we going to talk about what happened?' He asked in the silence that the moment provided. 'I told you, I have things to do.' She said weakly and he just stared at her. 'Yes I know, but don't you think that's a tad convenient Lorelai?' She of course huffed, offended that he would dare to say that to her.

'If you haven't noticed, my daughter.' She looked at him to dare him to say anything at that. 'My daughter is getting married at five, so I have things to do.' Luke just looked at her. 'Well then go, but we will talk about this.' He said it in a tone that almost made it impossible to doubt what he said.

Lorelai weighed what she had to do versus what he wanted. How much time she could spare and still get the long list of things she needed to get done before the wedding at sunset. 'Fine, you want to talk about things, I'll talk. I went to the hotel and you were gone, no message, no number, you didn't even say goodbye, I got the message Luke. I really feel there is nothing left to say.'

She stormed out of the room, not noticing that Luke had said rather softly 'What?' She was already in her car before Luke had his wits about him and noticed that maybe things were different than he had originally thought.'

TBC


	15. SOS

S.O.S

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this. No infringement intended.

Authors Note: Remember this universe is very different from the canon of the show. First of all, Luke and Jess aren't related. Not at all. Secondly, Luke is not from Stars Hallow. He's from Colorado, and he met Lorelai during a summer baseball program. I've gotten some pm asking whether Rory and Jess could be related. And NO! They are not. Secondly, I apologize for the longer and longer pauses between chapters. Are you guys even interested in this anymore? Sorry that real life is getting in the way of this. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Luke Danes had started off in life pretty well. He had two loving parents, who supported him, and he may not have been the richest kid on the block, or even close, but he was comfortable. He was taught a work ethic, and that was more valuable than a silver spoon any day. His dad was a genius when it came to fixing anything, and he had spent so many hours just watching his father fix a door, or an engine, or anything that needed doing. William Danes spent most of his time helping out his neighbors and friends with whatever, that it seemed William spent more time with tools in his hands than not. Luke had also learnt eternal kindness from his father, who had spent his time helping out his fellow man. He and the rest of the Dane family spent time at shelters helping during holidays and time when there was no special occasion. To help his fellow man, showed others that he wasn't above anything. William had stressed that doing for others was the greatest award. He also learnt that love was an important thing. William never thought that expressing your feelings made you weaker, and he made sure that the Danes children knew that they were loved. Violet Danes also made sure her children understand that hurting others wasn't something to be proud of. All these lessons aided Luke into being that boy during that summer in New York.

He really believed he had met her. You know HER. The one that he would marry and bring home and his parents would understand why he would forget to call them sometimes, because he was out with her. Lorelai made Luke laugh like no other, made him think like no other, and her in mind, made the bat swing a little bit harder, made his fast ball a little faster, and drove him to run just a bit faster, that would end up winning his team the game, and soon the championship during that summer. She was the reason why he paced the house waiting for her call, and when he figured out she wasn't calling him a year later, she was the reason why he looked just devastated. She was supposed to be the one, and he couldn't imagine what he did to make it that she just didn't feel the same way. He could have sworn he saw the same thing in hers that seemed to forever burn in his. That's why he figured he didn't last so long in the MLB as he should have. Why he seemed to get lost in the wiles of the real world, and went against the very thing his parents tried to instill in him. He wasn't blaming her, but a part of him was lost to her, and he would never get that back. He thought of her constantly over the years, and once in Colorado years after they parted the last time, he could have sworn he saw her. Across the street, and then he looked away for a second and she was gone, and he had convinced himself that it was just like the other million times he thought he saw her in the crowd.

Whenever he saw black hair and deep intense almost violet blue eyes he felt his heart quicken. His palms sweaty and the hairs at the back of the neck would stand on end, at the mere possibility that it was her. HER. But it never was. Finally he had to move on, and he had believed that Nicole Leahy was that person. Although Lorelai and Nicole were polar opposites, he could see himself find some bliss with her, but when it came to crunch time he just couldn't do it. He couldn't marry a woman to stand in for the one he had loved and lost. And during those final dark hours of when he thought to just give up, he had discovered that he had a daughter. April Nardini was his salvation. He had found out when his daughter was five, and her mother wanted to go to fashion school in Los Angeles and there was no way that Anna could take care of their daughter and dedicate the time she needed to get everything out of going to fashion school. So April came to live with him, and it felt like he was given a second chance. He went after the things he wanted. He started slow, coaching kids baseball and he let the time teach him how to be a great coach. Wasn't that the great part of the game? Mentoring young minds and he soon moved up in the world rather quickly. After all, how many previous professional baseball players were willing to coach high school baseball?

He had spent almost five years doing that, which lead to a job coaching a college team. He loved every minute of it, and then that lead to a job in the MLB as coach. He was now a professional coach and he could hear how proud his dad was. Imagine that, a Danes being a professional ball player and going back and being coach. The lessons his father had taught him had paid off. April went to a private school near where their house was, and she loved it. Life moved on quickly and before he knew he suffered another blow. His father, his much beloved father, died rather suddenly of a heart attack. A man who gave so much of himself, keeled over in the street, with people not knowing what to do to help. After that Luke lost some of the luster that finding out about his daughter had provided. But in time he moved on. He moved his mother into his house and made sure that her years would be happy, even if his father, her husband wasn't there. Violet Danes enjoyed being a grandmother.

Getting that invitation to the wedding after so many years of not speaking made Luke realize that even after all these years he still felt the same way. It was crazy, it was one summer, and it was both of their first times really falling in love, and here he was travelling across the country to go to a wedding that was somehow related to Lorelai. In the note, it has simply said, I would love to see you again. Like the years of no communication was merely a mistake that she hoped to remedied. Or so Luke thought.

Now here he is, after the big confrontation, and he truly realizes that maybe his missing her was not one sided like he believed. Her voice betrayed that she was still heartbroken, even after all this time. And of course that gave Luke some hope. The way she had looked at him, her eyes burning with anger and maybe a bit of disappointment, and he realized quickly that this summer of love that he kept hearing from Rory maybe was something more than her lack of feelings. At first he wondered why he was invited to something along with two other men. Christopher Hayden had been in the same program as Lorelai and he had wondered why the hell was this guy here. Christopher had asked out Lorelai multiple times when he had been around her, and he figured that she had relented after he left. That she had simply been worn down by being asked so many times. Max Medina was a strange guy as well. He seemed to genuinely care about Lorelai and he had found out after some conversations the two of them had, that Max was just a friend really, after one awkward mistake made 23 years ago when a vulnerable Lorelai simply gave in after believing that Love didn't exist anymore. Luke started to feel like he was missing something. Like he had walked into an elaborate inside joke that everyone was in on, but no one felt he should know. Only it seemed that more people were out of the loop than were in. And he had to wonder, whether Rory was the only one who knew what was going on.

He sat alone for awhile, until the Inn came alive with people eating and getting ready for the big day. He felt like maybe it was all a cosmic joke, and that he should just leave. After all, there was a team counting on him, and soon he would have to get back and a daughter who needed him. She was after all 13 years old. He looks out and Lorelai is smiling at her friend and her eyes are sparkling and she looks like she did when he first met her, and decides that maybe, this was worth fighting for. He goes outside and is determined to talk to Lorelai some more.

TBC


	16. Does Your Mother Know

Does Your Mother Know

Title: Does Your Mother Know

Summary: When Rory gets married she invites the three candidates who could be her father without Lorelai knowing?

Disclaimer: Obviously I do own anything, No infringement intended.

Author's Note: I am soo soo soo soo soo soo soo soo soo soo soo soo soo sorry that this took so long. Life's been hectic the last few months, but I promise that I will update much quicker.. plus Mamma Mia is coming out in theatres in July, and I have to finish this before then. I hope you guys are still interested and thanks for all the reviews… you guys are the best!

Rory wok up feeling not very refreshed and decided that maybe an early morning walk would clear her head. She knew that having the three candidates here would be complicated, but never did she imagine that it would end up like this. Three men who she didn't feel any real father/daughter connection with. She thought the minute she saw him, it would just strike her that this was her father. She know saw how naïve that was. Didn't they say that blood did not a father make? She should have listened to her head instead of her heart, but was it so wrong to want to have her father walk her down the aisle. She certainly couldn't talk to Lorelai about it. After all, this whole thing was in it's entirety was her doing. She was responsible for her own fate and certainly being responsible for not knowing her father was somehow her doing. Not necessarily the fact that she did not know who it was, but assuming that she was smarter than fate and biology. Rory was glad that she had her mother and that she never had to question that. She never had to question whether her mother loved her or not. Everything Lorelai did was somehow to help her daughter, and Rory felt that was why she was able to be at this position in her life.

She sat down on the dock and reveled in the breeze and dipped her toes into the water. This was where Jess had proposed. He had come and met her while she studied for her last final. No more classes which she was sad about, but that also meant no more long drives to New Haven back and forth. Jess would usually burn her a mix to drive to, and it was always the perfect thing to drive to. Peppy and slow and always some sort of joke between the two of them, and instead of Jess giving her his usual mix that was always her favorite part of the week, he gave her a blue box. Lorelai had taught her a few things that Lorelai had learnt form her mother. When a certain blue box was given to you, this is an auspicious occasion and that it always meant something more than just a ring. Jess looked at her sincerely and asked her simply, which to her was perfect. She had dealt with so called Yale playboys and they just didn't interest her. She wanted the love that she knew must exist. So of course she said yes. And then she did the stupidest thing. She didn't tell her mom.

This was just like when she had her first kiss, she didn't tell her mom for a week, and to this day Rory didn't really know why. She figured that part of her didn't want to let her mom know that she was growing up. Finally she got the courage to tell her mom, and Lorelai was ecstatic. Jess was the perfect match for Rory; it was as simple as that. From the very minute they met and they had debated the eternal Rand vs. Hemingway debate, and somehow she wasn't afraid to be Rory Gilmore. Her entire life, she was always Lorelai's daughter, and she felt like she had to be perfect. Her mother had made some mistakes, and she had to be the one to fix them somehow. Meeting Jess, and being with him, that all stopped. He didn't care what happened in the past, he was just concerned on whether she agreed that real authors were a dying breed, that books were more about selling your soul than actually writing something worth anything. He was funny and charming and was everything she would ever want, and what was best, was that he loved her. He saw her faults and he accepted them and that was why she wanted to marry him.

Rory was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear someone approach her. She was staring at the water as it twinkled in the sunlight that when she felt a hand on her shoulder she nearly fell in. She looked around and there was Jess. She smiled at the sight of him, already feeling his calming effect on her body. "Hey" he said causally, as if it was any day, and not their wedding day. They didn't believe in wedding traditions and had planned to somehow run into each other during that day.

Jess had recognized that there was something bothering his fiancé, and it was bugging him that she wouldn't tell him what was wrong. That was what he was good at, figuring out what made Roy tick. She was an enigma that was for sure, talented and beautiful, but also sweet. He had never met anyone who was genuinely sweet for no ulterior motives before. And now she was looking like she had reached the end of her rope, and he wanted to do something for her. 'Hi.' She said and Jess moved to sit next to her. Rory put her head to his shoulder and closed her eyes, already feeling the effect of just touching him. 'What's wrong? Having second thoughts?' Rory shook her head no but stayed silent. She sighed and Jess stayed silent, knowing she would eventually tell him what was wrong.

They sat like that for five minutes before Rory even contemplating on how to tell him just exactly what she did. Now to hear someone inviting three men you have never met to your wedding, knowing full and well that they might be your fathers sounded insane. What was she thinking? Finally she got to the point where it sounded the least like she was purposely trying to mess with things in her head, she dared to say something to jess.

'I kind of did a stupid thing, and I am suffering for it.' She said and Jess urged her to go on, and she did. 'I read my mom's journal from that particular summer, got the names and then got the addresses from google, sent them invitations to the wedding, and did this without telling or consulting my mom.' She said in one full sweep and Jess didn't say anything at first.

He had noticed three strangers that had been around Lorelai a lot lately. Even a few nights ago, he had spotted Lorelai speaking with one of them in the gazebo. 'So do they know why there were invited?' he asked and she shook her head. 'They think it's Lorelai wanting to get to know them again, and last night, each of them kind of figured out there was more to the story, Luke was just interested in my mom, Christopher was creepy and then he cleared up all this stuff, and Max, he was just kind.' Rory said and she shrugged, still snuggling in Jess's embrace.

"Start from the beginning." He said and Rory went into detail on finding the picture and dreading the diary, and figuring out what may have happened. She went into how much she wanted her father to be there, to finally have that spot in her filled and she really thought that by meeting them, she could figure it out. She talked about each of them at length, and finally she told him of her confusion on what to do. 'All three have offered to walk me up the aisle, but none of them can tell me there my father, and it's not like Lorelai will tell me.' Rory said and even if she didn't mean to, she could even hear the accusing tone in her voice.

'Well have you thought about what it must be like for Lorelai? You said that she loves Luke, even you know that, without her saying a word about it, seeing him after all this time, with no real answers of what had happened must be strange for her, and then you add in two other guys that from what you gathered were after this Luke thing ended, and you just invite them with no warning, of course Lorelai will feel a little weird about that, don't you think?' Jess says, with no hint of anger or any other emotion but compassion for his future mother in law. 'But she never told me about my father, don't you think she should have said something?' Rory said, a little more desperate for him to be on her side.

'Sure, she should have said something, but that doesn't mean she deserves to have three men coming at her with no warning. They think that she is somewhat prepared for this and she isn't, and from what I saw of your mother, she does not like when people know more than she does about her own life. Didn't you say that after awhile, your grandmother was cut out of her life, for thinking she knew what was best for her?' Jess added and Rory moved out of his arms and moved so she could actually look at him in the face.

'I realize that it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but this is my only change of getting to know them.' Jess just stared at Rory. She felt like angry teachers were staring her down, after speaking out of turn. 'Look I know how badly you want to know who your father is, but don't you think you should have just asked Lorelai?' Jess said and Rory suddenly felt angry. 'No, you don't know how I feel about that, because you don't know everything Jess. I've been pushing this down and down all my life because I could see even as a kid that it would hurt my mom, but I need to know. I need to know before we get married.' Rory got up, and Jess followed her. He brushed the bangs out of her eyes and smiled. 'But we are getting married in a few hours.' He said softly almost sentimental that soon she would be his wife.

"Why can't you seem to get this, I have three men thinking they are walking me down the aisle, and they all think that they are my father. I don't know what to do." She says and Jess is a little hurt that she just totally ignored what he had just said. 'Well what do you think you should do then Rory.' He says flippantly and let's his voice of when he was a teenager comes back. 'Why are you getting annoyed at me?' Rory says and he huffs.

'You spring all of this on me and when I try to help you, you snap at me, so really I don't know what you want here Rory. Do you even care that in six hours, we are getting married? Whether your father is here or not?' Rory looks at Jess and just says nothing. He nods. 'Fine then, don't worry about it. Hope you find whatever the hell you are looking for, and in the process, could you maybe inform me, so I don't have to do this damn dance with you over and over again?' Jess turns around and walks away and Rory just calls after him, hoping to fix whatever she did.

"Jess!" she shouted but he just kept walking and Rory was left there worried not only for her current father situation, but if she had ruined things with Jess completely.

Her phone buzzed and she looked down and she saw it was a message for Jess, worried that he was breaking it off then and three, and but instead it said 'are you sure you still want to go ahead?' Rory smiled and texted him back.

Lorelai meanwhile was checking that all of the guests were happy and situated. Sookie had gone off and went and collected her dad so he would be here for the ceremony. Lorelai managed to check her email to check on the upcoming guests accommodations she needed to fill. She heard someone walk in and she she was about to see what they wanted but in her peripheral vision she saw that it was Luke. She sighed and decided that maybe if she looked really super busy that he would just go away.

"Lorelai, I know you are just doing that to avoid me." Luke says and she sighs and looks up. 'I'm busy here, could this wait until after today?' she asked hopefully and Luke just continued to stare her down. 'Why are Max and Chris here?' Luke just said and of course Lorelai was shocked that this would come up. She figured he would want to talk about why they lost touch or something. But not this.

'Do not even go their Luke.' She says the words fleeing form her clenched teeth. Immediately she felt threatened. Not physically of course but emotionally. 'I just want to know what happened after I left New York.' snag Lorelai sighs. 'I really don't have time for this.' She says but Luke doesn't back down. 'Fine, let's go into the library, this may take awhile.'

Luke and Lorelai sit together on the couch, and although they have a full cushion between them, it was like she could feel him. Maybe Lorelai's imagination was running fully rampant, but she could almost close her eyes and picture what Luke touching her felt like. After all it was so long ago, but she could swear she could still feel it sometimes. Lorelai began to go into detail about what life was like after she had found out that Luke was gone. How miserable she was, and Lorelai for the first time, actually let herself feel things she hadn't let herself feel since it had happened.

Time went of and by the time she was finished Luke looked stoic. His face was drawn and he just sat there. 'So now you know everything, I really need to go check on things.' Lorelai hightailed it out of there but before she could move away from Luke he held onto her wrist, gently of course but it made her stop. Luke stood up and he was almost nose-to-nose with Lorelai. He kissed her once gently. Lorelai closed her eyes involuntary, and she saw a kiss that had happened long ago, and she wore it was just like the very first one. He let go and went in to kiss her deeply, but Lorelai had to go. She needed to think and to breathe, and Luke didn't allow her to do that.

Luke was left alone in the library, thinking about all that he had learned. About Chris and Max, and the mystery that surrounded Lorelai thinking he didn't leave her his number.

Rachael was sitting at the gazebo with her camera in hand watching the people of Stars Hallow go about their daily business. Rachael had loved this place since she could remember, but no matter what, it would always be too small for her. She was supposed to be the city girl, and no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she would never be meant for small town life. She wanted to go places and see things, and the most exotic thing about Stars Hallow was either Miss Patty's ex husbands or Al's Pancake World mystery Wednesday Dinners. Rachael of course came for Rory's wedding. She just couldn't believe that little Rory Gilmore was getting married. She had known her, almost her entire life, and yet it seem like she was still that little girl who had looked for fairies in all of the trees on the Inn's property. Rachael had always said that she would settle down and have a family, no matter how much her heart wanted to wander, she wanted kids, a husband and a family more, and now it seemed like she was running out of time. She had passed the big 40, and it wasn't going to get easier as time went by, and she certainly didn't want to be one of those woman she saw on 20/20 touting that it was possible for a woman of sixty to get pregnant. She focused her attention on her career, and she had found happiness in that for a while, but now, all she could think of was having the whole package. She heard the analogy that Sookie and Lorelai would talk about, the whole package, to have a beginning and an end, but more importantly have a middle, and Rachael wanted that, but she never met anyone worth that. Rachael was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of someone approaching and she looked up to see Max Medina coming towards her.

Max was an attractive man, with his thick black hair and almost forest green eyes, he was someone that Rachael would of course feel attracted to. Unfortunately, Rachael did not know how to talk to him. She had heard the story from Lorelai and had heard the story straight from one of the only people who knew what happened. Lorelai had nothing but wonderful things to say about him, there was something that made her feel uncomfortable. She wasn't afraid or worried that he would hurt her, it was that she knew that if time and space allowed, Max could be it, and she had hardly said a word to him. It was crazy and it drove her nuts, but that's the truth about it all.

'Hey Rachael' Max said simply and she smiled at him. He looked around the town amused. 'I can't believe a place like this exists. It's something you would read about in a fairytale isn't it?' Max says never paying attention to the fact that Rachael may possibly have a heart attack. 'Um yeah, Stars Hallow is unique.' Rachael said with her voice thick with nerves. But Max just continued to smile. 'So how long have you known Lorelai?' Max asked and finally there was something she could focus on.

'Years and years, too many to count really. When she started at the Inn, I worked there and you know her obviously, to know her is to adore her.' Rachael said and Max smiled. 'Hey that's a Beatle lyric.' Max was impressed and was enthralled in this woman. 'So you've known her how long?' Rachael shrugged. 'Feels like eons but pretty much since she arrived in the town.' Max nodded. 'And I bet your close with Rory?' Max asked and Rachael smiled. 'Rory is as close to a niece as I will ever get, she's awesome.' Max and Rachael were silent and then she began to wonder. Why all the questions? She knew from Lorelai that there was a possibility that this man was Rory's father. 'I knew Lorelai for such a short time and yet I've never been able to forget her, but getting to know her now, it reconfirms what I knew all along.' Max chuckled in response to his own statement. 'She is just as hung up on that guy as she was almost 24 years ago.' Rachael smiled. 'Oh I know.' Rachael smiled at Max, and suddenly it occurred to her that they had immediate chemistry, Max seemed to notice it too, because she could have sworn she saw glee shining from his intense eyes.

Meanwhile across town Luke was walking trying to get his mind around the story Lorelai had told him. When he got that invitation, he thought that maybe he would get to find out what had happened, but never in a million years would he figure that he had a potential daughter in a small town in Connecticut. He looked up and there was Rory sitting on the dock and he flashed back to a time when he though he knew everything. He was about to turn around, unsure around her but he heard her sigh and he had to go see her.

'Rory?' Luke called and she turned around and the look on her face told him that she wasn't exactly expecting him to see her here. ' Luke?' Luke smiled and gestured to the spot beside her. 'Mind if I sit here?' Rory shock her head and Luke sat down. 'I think you and I need to talk.'

TBC


End file.
